Not One of Those Times
by Writing2Death
Summary: Everyone's day had started out completely, totally, perfectly normal. Except now, Merlin had two problems. Gwen was missing and two girls had materialized out of thin air. Yes, materialized. And why did he care again? Oh right, he was an idiot. Arthur/OC.
1. Shattering Glass

_Author's Note:_

Um, Hi! So, this is my first little venture into the world of writing Merlin fanfiction... I will say that the first chapter is mostly just a base and more like a prologue than anything. It features a lack of all the characters you know and love but I promise they're coming soon! ... You just have to wait until the second chapter.

I don't know why, but I was really hesitant to post this, which is odd, because I've been writing fanfiction for something like six or seven years now and I've never been so hesitant to post something before. I really hope that everyone likes it but I'm not above accepting constructive criticism (but flames will be used to roast marshmallows). So, if you ever notice any horrendous plot holes or terrible, horrible characterization, please let me know and I will do my best to fix them :D

Now, the part that, really, no one wants to do but they have to because they don't want to be sued...

_Disclaimer:_ I, Writing2Death, in no way, shape or form own anything associated with Merlin. I do, however, own this story and Jenny, Adrianna, and Lyssa... and all of the other original characters.

And last but not least...

Review, please. Let me know what you think and if I should continue or not. This story just kind of implanted itself in my brain, held me hostage, and demanded I write so... feedback would be welcome and appreciated.

Now: Read, Enjoy, and click the small button that the bottom to leave a review!

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**-- Chapter One: Shattering Glass --**

Do you know those times when you're half asleep and half awake and you've just had a terrifying dream? The dream lingers on the fringes of your mind and you're heart's beating way too fast and you can't calm down. Then the terrible moment when you think that it wasn't just a dream passes and you open your eyes. And bright, hard reality rushes in and you can't help but feel relief with every fibre of your being.

This was not one of those times.

I squeezed my eyes shut in horror and opened them again, expecting a different result. I pinched myself hard enough to bruise. It still wasn't gone.

_What the hell was going on?_

* * *

The day started out completely, totally, perfectly normal. Honestly. I swear to you, I'm not lying.

"Hey, Jenny! Over here!"

That's me. Jenny or Jeanette Styles.

I turned to see one of my friends from school, which definitely wasn't abnormal, seeing as I was on my way to school. "Hey," I greeted as I pushed the double doors open and wrinkled my nose. The Cafe Ladies were making their Cafe Cookies again. The whole hallway reeked of chocolate and grease.

"Are you excited about the Ancient History trip today?" Lyssa asked, falling into step beside me.

I gasped and I could have sworn people in China may have heard it. "Oh my God. That's today?" I said, stopping in my tracks.

Lyssa looked at me as if I'd grown an extra head. "Haven't you been counting down the days since day one?"

I pursed my lips, looking slightly embarrassed. "I was, on my calandar." I responded. "But last week, I accidently doused it in Orange pop."

She looked at me for a moment then she sighed, an affectionate and slightly insulting smile on her face. "Only you, Jenny."

I grinned in delight as I boarded the bus to the museum. I honestly couldn't wait. I guess I'm a bit of a nerd like that. Not like those science ones who have nothing better to do with their time than experiment and cause explosions, but the history kind. The cool kind. Really, I spent my time researching legends and learning as much as I could ... I didn't really make that point very well, did I?

I took the very front seat of the bus and slid over next to the window, squishing my backpack in under my feet. Lyssa slid into the space next to me and then proceeded to stare at me like I was insane. This may or may not have had to do with the fact that I was shaking from head to toe with excitement.

"Little too much coffee?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, shut up." I answered, smiling broadly.

"Quiet down," Mr. Sloan said flatly, looking rather bored. "Let me take role call and then you can chatter all you like."

I smiled at him; Mr. Sloan was my all time favourite teacher. He wasn't one of those teachers who hate their jobs, he was a real history buff. But, he only ever took interest in students who actually liked history... I guess you could call me a bit of a teacher's pet.

"Jenny Styles?"

"Here!" I said brightly. A pair of girls behind me snickered and Lyssa looked at me sympathetically. I kept the smile plastered to my face, pretending not to notice.

Mr. Sloan continued down the list lazily until he finally reached Lyssa's name. "Alyssa Velusi?"  
"Present." Lyssa answered absently, now studying her nails.

It wasn't my fault, really, I promise. I couldn't change who I was. People just didn't like that I was a teacher's pet. They generally thought I was just weird. There was taunting and gossip and most of the time I just made believe it wasn't there but once in a while, I slipped and the sneering got past the barrier.

But Lyssa was already there. Mostly apathetic, it was surprising that she'd be such a good friend but she was. Lyssa was always there for me.

"Ignore them," Lyssa muttered so the airheads behind me couldn't hear, proving my previous point. But it was already out of mind.

I was itching to talk to someone about the trip. Lyssa could care less, though; Ancient History was nothing more than an easy elective for her. And obviously the girls in the seat behind me were out of the question so I found myself feeling very secluded.

When the bus finally started moving, I tried to pass the three hours by daydreaming. We were going to one of the biggest and best museums around. I couldn't wait. In class, we were studying the dark ages, focussing on the witch burnings and how everything was so chaotic back then. How religion ruled science and radical thinking was prohibited.

I particularly loved the Arthurian legends. Historically and realistically, they didn't really make any sense, the early stories conflicting and not coinciding with reality during those times, mixing and adapting characters so many times that they ended up as completely different people, and that's not even mentioning the magic... But there was something about them that was completely magical; the sublime, my English teacher would say. Something about them, despite being so completely unrealistic, that made them _real_.

Of course, I thought, bringing myself down from my small high, we weren't exactly studying the Arthurian legends. Because they weren't really history. It was just one of my guilty, pleasurable hobbies that Mr Sloan was willing to converse with me about now and again.

I stared out the window, vaguely aware that Lyssa beside me had dozed off, her head resting on my shoulder. It was raining now, the drops splattering the window and running down the glass. I sighed and looked away, hauling my bookbag onto my lap and digging through it to find my notebook.

The girls behind me snickered again and I could tell they were still watching me, knowing that when I'm bored I usually fall back to my second favourite hobby: writing.

I opened the battered notebook and turned to a clean page. I wrote in purple ink the words I'd written a variation of so many times before.

_I wonder what it would be like to have lived back then..._

* * *

The museum was huge with cold stone walls and shining floors. I was so excited that I could barely contain myself, babbling at a million miles a minute to Lyssa, who looked so bored that she could fall asleep where she stood.

First on the agenda was listening to a lecture on the witch burnings. It was interesting and I avidly took notes in my battered little notebook, thinking that I could use some of the material in one of my many stories, or that I could ponder on it later.

I was slightly distracted, though, eager to get to the tour. It was just a tour of the medieval sections of the museum but the class was free to wander for a period of time, when the tour was over and provided they meet up at the cafe when that time was up. I could not wait.

At lunch break, just before the scheduled tour, I sat at one of the cafeteria tables with Lyssa. I was oddly quiet, thinking and even she seemed to notice.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

I shrugged, not really sure. "Writing." I answered after a minute.

She nodded, knowing that it was difficult for me to talk about my writing.

Lyssa sighed, "I'm going to get food. Want anything?"

Fishing in my pocket for change, I said, "Orange pop. Thanks!" I called as she took the money.

"What do you think?" I heard a voice say as a chair scraped out beside me. It was Mr Sloan.

I grinned broadly, "It's great." I answered honestly. "I can't wait for the tour."

"Hoping to see something that reminds you of those legends?" he asked, a somewhat knowing look coming over his features.

"Something like that," I admitted. "I just finished reading _The Once and Future King_ by TH White," I explained, "And so..."

He smiled slightly as he attacked his lunch. "You're going to make a good teacher someday," he said. "It's good that you're so enthusiastic about something that you like."

"Thanks." I muttered, embarrassed.

It was then that I saw Lyssa across the Cafe, waving at me to join her at another empty table. I understood that she didn't really want to be seen with Mr Sloan. She wasn't quite the teacher's pet I was. I excused myself and got up, making my way through the maze of tables and chairs.

"Hey," I greeted with a smile and she handed me my Orange pop. Lyssa rolled her eyes affectionately as I opened it with the sound of Carbon dioxide being released.

"You little nerd," she accused playfully.

"I never denied it." I laughed.

She cracked a smile. Lyssa was probably one of the prettiest people I knew. She had an angular face, free from any freckles and framed by a curtain of dark, straight hair. And her eyes were wide and blue. It was a shame she was such an indifferent person, really. It didn't make me love her any less, though.

"So how are the legends coming?"

And my insides froze. I should have expected this.

Brittany Rolland and Adrianna Sparks took the seats opposite us, grinning mischievously.

Lyssa rolled her eyes, "You don't have anything better to do?" She sneered.

I was quiet.

Adrianna smirked, "You wish you were born then, don't you, Jenny?"

I glared at her, wondering how she knew my deepest, darkest secret. Even Lyssa didn't know that. I felt my face flush darkly.

"No," I responded defiantly.

"Don't lie." Brittany snickered. "You left your notebook in the lecture hall." She dug through her bag for it and slid it across the table.

And it was mine, battered and blue, ripped, worn, and well loved. I felt tears in my eyes. "That was private," I said, looking up at them. "Why would you do that?"

Brittany ignored me, "You really don't like that Guinevere character, do you?"

I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore her. I couldn't talk about this with someone who would mock me.

"Shut up," Lyssa said fiercely, glaring her hardest, an ugly expression on her pretty face.

"_She's the most selfish character I've ever read about. How could someone do that to someone they care about, even if they weren't quite in love with them?_" Brittany said, coming very close to the words I'd written after reading _The Ill-Made Knight_. "If you were Guinevere--"

I stood up and snatched my notebook off the table. "Shut up," I said and swallowed thickly. Without another word, I stalked from the cafe.

* * *

I didn't enjoy the tour as much I as I thought I would. My head was too full of thoughts.

Lyssa ended up having to come and find me. I'd been staring in the bathroom mirror for the better part of half an hour. I looked normal enough, I told myself, so why was I so abnormal?

It was true. There was nothing abormal about about my dark blonde hair, always kept in a ponytail or my blue eyes. So, why was I so different?

"It's the freckles," Lyssa had muttered, hugging me from behind, and I realized I had said it out loud.

I had sniffed and wiped my eyes, and smiled. "Of course it's the freckles," I said.

So, I trailed after the class, hugging my notebook to my chest, not willing to let it out of my sight ever again and listening to the explanations half-heartedly, wishing very hard for my wish to come true and ignoring the snickers of Brittany and Adrianna.

The tour was over quicker than I thought it would be as well. But mostly, I was too distracted to notice the time.

Lyssa stayed by my side loyally, though I don't think she would have been racing to see the sights even if I wasn't upset.

Only when the tour was over did Lyssa grab my wrist and pull me out of the room toward another exhibit. I could hear Mr Sloan yelling after the class as they raced in all directions to be back before the bus left _'Or there'd be serious consequences!'_

"What are you doing?" I asked exasperatedly as she stopped in the first room in a series with an exhibit featuring furnature from the Renaissance period.

Lyssa rolled her eyes, "Adrianna was looking at you rather predatorially and it was disturbing," she explained.

"... Right." I responded, running my fingers over the wood of a dresser that was near to me. It was clearly old and I smiled at being close to something that had so much history attached to it.

"Anyway, I made a collective decision and decided that she shouldn't be anywhere near you, especially after what Brittany said earlier."

I closed my eyes, moving onto the next piece, an old mirror, and appreciating it thoroughly. Here it comes, I thought, she was going to ask. I made a small, I-don't-wish-to-comment-on-that noise in the back of my throat.

Lyssa pushed on, "So... what did she mean?" she asked hesitantly. "Do you really wish you were born in that time?"

I swallowed and turned to her. "Yes."

"Jeanette, _there_, you are!"

Both of us looked up. Adrianna was standing in the doorway of the room, looking slightly relieved.

"Go crawl into a hole and die," Lyssa said pleasantly.

Adrianna pursed her lips. "Could I talk to you?" she asked me, shooting an annoyed look at Lyssa. "Alone?"

Lyssa scoffed but didn't say anything.

My lips parted but I wasn't sure how to answer. Finally, I found my voice. "Lyssa can stay," I said. It was't really worded the way I wanted it to be but Adrianna got the message. I could tell Lyssa was smirking.

"Fine." Adrianna agreed reluctantly through gritted teeth.

As she began talking, I moved closer to her, feeling that I should at least pay attention to what she was saying.

"Jenny, about what Brittany said earlier, I didn't know that you'd get so upset, I mean --"

And then several things happened at once.

My foot caught on a snag in the carpet on the floor and I tumbled forward into Adrianna. Lyssa gasped and tried to catch me but it was too late. Adrianna and I were sent crashing into the mirror I'd been examining previously and it exploded into a thousand glass shards in every direction.

The only thing I could register was that I was sprawled uncomfortably over the girl who'd tormented me for years and that there was a rather large cut on my cheek that was bleeding profusely.

The next thing I registered, when I looked up, was that we definitely were _not_ in the museum anymore.


	2. In the Dark

_Author's Note:_

You know, I was totally going to make you wait until Monday but I decided that I'm going to update on Sundays from now on, and so here I am. Aren't you glad? Anyway, here we are. _Not One of Those Times_ has made it to the second chapter! Yay! ... Other than that, I really don't know what to say here.

Oh, right! This story is going to be hideously AU. I thought I'd warn you now, before you got too far in and had to find out the hard way. I haven't decided when the cut off point during season one will be yet but as of season two it is definitely AU in the extreme. Yes so...

Also, I'd like to thank **GoldenAura**, **MegElemental**, **YOUTHFULwolfie5122** for reviewing. Reviews equals heart!

Disclaimer: I, Writing2Death, in no way, shape, or form own anything associated with Merlin. I do own Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and all of the other original characters that make appearances, though.

And now to the reason you clicked on the link on the pervious page -- to read the chapter! Read, enjoy, and click the little button to leave a review behind!

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**-- Chapter Two: In The Dark --**

Merlin's day had started out, completely, totally, perfectly normal. Honestly, it did. Of course, Merlin thought as he examined the new and troublesome situation he'd managed to get himself into this time, nothing ever stayed completely, totally, and perfectly normal.

He sighed as he mentally reviewed the growing number of problems.

So, Gwen was missing. That was problem number one. Well, maybe missing was a strong word. No one had seen her in several hours and Morgana was becoming quite worried.

Problem number two was that two girls had, apparently, materialized in the middle of the street. Yes, materialized.

And why did he insist on getting involved in affairs that had nothing to do with him?

Oh, right. He was an idiot.

* * *

As Dorothy once said, "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." Except it was a little different.

There was a strange ringing in my ears and I realized Adrianna under me was screaming. I supposed this was her version of "Jenny, we're not in the museum anymore."

Forcefully, she pushed me off her and got to her knees, crying and shivering though it was warm.

We were attracting attention, and I could tell that not all of it was good. This was pushed to the back of my mind as I took in my surroundings. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped open and I think I might have been hyperventilating.

I pushed myself to my feet and took an unsteady step forward.

_It was like I'd stepped right into a history textbook._

The sun was bright and the sky was blue. There was a crowd surrounding Adrianna and I but it was hard to focus on that. We were outside in the middle of the street and there was noise. Behind the people I could see the outlines of small houses, peasant houses and the people were dressed as peasants as well, I noticed. Swallowing frantically, I wasn't sure whether to laugh with insane happiness or to panic.

But my mind wasn't working logically and I couldn't help it: a wide smile spread across my face and I was shaking again.

"Jenny," I heard and Adrianna clutched to my arm, shaking for a different reason, with tears. "Jenny!" she said, trying to get me to pay attention to her.

I tore my eyes away from the different sights and forced myself to look at her.

"Jenny, look!" she said frantically, and I did.

Suddenly, I was very afraid.

The crowd was making noise. Some of them were whispering and some were shouting.

_Witchcraft!_ they said. _Magic!_

I gasped and grabbed Adrianna's arm. We were surrounded and I wasn't sure what to do. My brain was on overload and Adrianna was crying and clutching painfully at my hand, and we were both shaking.

I couldn't help it; I fainted.

* * *

Adrianna felt Jenny drop, her body going slack and she fell to her knees with the suddeness of supporting dead weight. It was only a few long moments before she heard the sound of many approaching footsteps. A group of men in red uniforms were swiftly making their way toward them and the crowd parted to clear a path.

"Arrest them," the leader said, though it was obvious.

Adrianna didn't hear anything more as she tried to struggle from their grip. The man was too strong though and could have easily carried her. She saw someone grab Jenny, unconscious and defenseless and she screamed, pleading.

"No, please," she said, "We haven't!" Most of what came out of her mouth was nonsensical babble but she felt like she couldn't breath and she needed _out_.

Eventually, she stopped struggling but it didn't make the man's grip any looser. She felt lost, like she had stumbled into a dark room and kept bumping into things. How could everything go downhill so quickly? What in the world was going on, anyway?

They threw her into a dark room, Jenny close behind her. Adrianna barely managed to prevent her head from smacking off the stone floor as they slammed the barred door shut. She heard the click of a lock.

She backed into the corner of the room, frightened.

And it was dark.

* * *

When I came to, we weren't outside anymore. It wasn't bright - it was dank and dark and smelled of mould. I was laying on the cold stone floor. I pushed myself to a sitting position. "Where are we?" I asked aloud.

The only response I got was a wimpering sound that came from the corner of the room. I looked around. It was Adrianna. She was huddled into herself, arms wrapped tightly around her legs, knees drawn to her chest, and her face pressed into them. She was muttering words that sounded very much like, "It's not real. It's not real."

I tried to block out the sound. I needed to _think. _It was difficult for me to quiet my mind. It was racing so quickly, jumping from one thought to another. I took several deep breaths.

Okay, I thought deliberately, so I've stepped into a history book. Gone back in time? Gone insane? I wasn't sure.

I bit my lip and decided I wasn't going to explore that last train of thought any further.

Okay, so the alternative was that I'd gone back in time. I couldn't help the smile that tugged grimly at my lips, despite my situation. Oh, right, my situation. Tiredly, I ran a dirty hand over my face, and winced when it came in contact with my cheek. As I took my hand away, I saw that my fingertips were dotted with blood. Gingerly, I felt my cheek. There was a gash that ran from just below my temple to near the corner of my lips. It wasn't deep but I could feel the dried blood all along the side of my face.

Shuddering, I pulled my hand away. It must have been from the mirror shattering.

The Mirror! It all happened when the Mirror broke. Is - was that the key?

I swallowed, my throat was dry. If we'd gone back in time, then it must be sometime during the Dark Ages. And we were in the cell of a prison. I felt my blood run cold. We were in prison. I forced my mind back to before I collapsed. They were - they were talking about witchcraft.

Oh my God.

We were being held for witchcraft. They _burned_ women for witchcraft.

I was hyperventilating again. This wasn't how things were supposed to go! I was where I wanted to be, for once in my life, and something stupid like this had to come and ruin it all because it was stupid and public and I wanted to scream.

Slowly, I made myself stand, making sure I wasn't going to fall over. I made my way over to Adrianna, who was still huddled in the corner. She looked up as I crouched down beside her and lowered myself so my back was pressed against the wall, her pretty face blotchy and tragic and her green eyes bloodshot from crying.

I was the one, ironically, unexpectedly, surprisingly, who had to take charge. I made my voice steady. "I think we've gone back in time."

She gaped at me and then started laughing hysterically. The kind of laughter one often hears from those who aren't quite sound in the mind; it gave me goosebumps. Finally, she calmed down, dragging her hand through her tangled brown curls. She didn't even answer me.

"I was being serious." I continued, hoping that she wouldn't ever do that again.

"I know," she said, finally turning to face me. "I'm a history student too, you know." I think it was supposed to be an insult but it sounded more like she was about to fall asleep.

"So you know we're going to die sometime in the next few days," I stated, my voice oddly apathetic.

Adrianna was silent and I stared at her. She looked as though she was steeling herself for something. Her voice was strong. "No, we're not."

It was my turn to gape. "But -" I started. It was then I realized how peculiar this situation was, ignoring the time travel. I was in a prison cell, with an enemy, talking about our death because we were accused of witchcraft. And she was arguing with me about the accuracy of my knowledge of history. No. I wouldn't stand for it.

"Yes we are," I said through gritted teeth. "Look around, Adrianna! Do you see a way out? We are sometime in the middle ages, only God knows where, where they _burn_ supposed witches. How the hell do you expect to survive this?"

Adrianna looked about ready to strangle me, "If you want to go ahead and let them kill you, Jeanette, that's your deal. I refuse to die here."

There was silence for a moment.

"Do you have a plan?"

Adrianna sighed, "Nope."

* * *

"And do you have a plan?" Gaius asked, the expression that clearly said, _'What is _wrong_ with you?' _plastered to his face. Yes, _the_ expression; there was only one.

Merlin gestured with his hand, "I was just planning on making it up as I went along."

"Yes, because that's worked so well for you in the past."

They were debating on the situation. Should he help the mystery girls? That was the main question involved. Also, secondarily, where in the world did Gwen go?

"I still think we should help them," Merlin stated, sighing. They'd been around this point, like, three times now.

"As you've pointed out," Gaius said yet again. "I disgree. Merlin, use your head. Two girls, dressed very strangely I might add, appear out of thin air. There isn't a way around it; it was magic. And it was public, at that."

Merlin was frustrated. Yes, it was clearly magic, he recognized that, really he did, but did that make them guilty? It's not like Uther or any of the guards bothered to get their side of the story. For all he knew, they could have been just as confused as everyone else. Out loud he said, "You're probably right."

And then, just like what was typical and expected of him by now, he got up from his seat and abruptly left the room.

Gaius stared after him with a dreadful, sinking feeling in his stomach that told him something was about to begin and it wasn't going to be something that was pleasant.


	3. The Other Side of the Reflection

_Author's Note:_

Hello! I'm back with another chapter (obviously!). But before I get on with the chapter, I've got some official warnings and things for you.

1. Firstly, I'd like to say that as of Season One, Episode 8, this story is officially AU in the extreme.  
2. Secondly, I'd like to say that this story is going to have spoilers, but not for Merlin. If anyone plans on reading _The Once and Future King_ by TH White, I'd suggest doing it before reading this story. Because there will be repeated references and I'll go as far as to say spoilers.

Okay, so now that that's out of the way, I suppose I'll get on with it.

_Disclaimer:_ I, Writing2Death, do not own anything affiliated with Merlin. However, I do own this story along with Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and all of the other original characters that make appearances.

And, one last thing before I actually stop stalling: Thank-you to **MegElemental**, **GoldenAura**, **YOUTHFULwolfie5122**, and **Punk Chopsticks** for reviewing that last chapter. It's very much appreciated.

All right! All right. And, so without any more stalling, I present chapter three. Please read, enjoy, and review!

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**-- Chapter Three: The Other Side of the Reflection --**

Lyssa stared at the remains of the mirror in horror and took a startled step back. It had happened so fast. What exactly had happened so fast? She wasn't even sure. There was a light and blood and the raining of fragments of glass and the next thing she knew she was covering her head to shield herself from it. The frame of the mirror teetered dangerously and very suddenly came crashing down to the ground with the sound of clanging metal, resting at Lyssa's feet.

When Lyssa dared to bring her arms down from her face, she was shocked at what she saw. Lying unconscious in the middle of the frame of the mirror was a girl, slightly older than herself.

The last thought Lyssa had before losing consciousness herself and falling to the floor was about Jenny and Adrianna. What in the world happened to them? If they weren't here, where were they?

* * *

Lyssa's day had started out completely, totally, perfectly normal. It did, really. She'd gone to school, fended off the stupid idiots who tortured Jenny, and _broken a giant, expensive, irreplaceable mirror that was hundreds of years old._ No big deal, though.

These were her thoughts as she awoke, hoping against all hope that the events of the day were nothing more than a strange, screwed up dream. Failing that, she just wanted to see Jenny.

_Jenny. _Oh, dear God.

Lyssa unpeeled her eyelids and sat bolt upright, pain exploding in her head. Leaning over her was Mr Sloan and she'd just smacked her head off of his. Where the hell was she? Her head felt foggy and she tried to get up but someone pushed her back down. "Woah, take it easy." Mr Sloan was talking.

"But- Jenny, and --"

"You fainted, we think," he said gently. "You took out a mirror too, along with an innocent bystander, by the way. She's still unconscious."

Lyssa's brain caught up with the situation. There was the girl, in the mirror frame and Jenny - and Adrianna -

"You need to find Jenny," she said. "Something's happened, and I don't know where she is."

Mr Sloan looked slightly alarmed and as Lyssa surveyed the situation, she noticed that most of the class was crowded around her and that she was lying on a make-shift cot. Neither Jenny or Adrianna were there.

She made herself get up, pushing Mr Sloan's arm out of the way. "Where's that girl?" she asked, passing a hand over her face and trying to wake herself up.

"We haven't been able to find Jenny... Or Adrianna..."

Lyssa stared at him like he was stupid. "Not Jenny," she said through gritted teeth. "The girl! In the mirror frame!"

"The innocent bystander?" he said, repeating his previous phrasing.

"Yes!"

"She's on the other cot," he responded, "but you should lie down. We're not sure if you have a concussion or not and we've called for an ambulance, since there was blood..."

Lyssa could have screamed, really.

The class was whispering and staring and she was surprised they were present at all, really. These thoughts were pushed to the back of her head though. She needed to talk to that girl. It was important to her, and to Jenny and Adrianna. She could tell.

If there was one thing Lyssa firmly believed, it was that not all things made sense in the world but all things happened for a reason. And right now, two people breaking a mirror and disappearing didn't logically make sense, but if they were replaced by that girl...

She was getting ahead of herself and, she suspected, not thinking clearly.

And now she could hear the wailing of a siren and she sighed, laying back and waiting for the girl to wake.

This was how Lyssa and the mysterious, unconscious girl ended up in the back of an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

* * *

Gwen's day started out completely, totally, perfectly normal. It did, ask anyone.

As usual, she woke her Lady Morgana and brought her breakfast up. She was her maidservant, you see, so it was her job. Then she set about tidying Morgana's rooms. They weren't messy, mind you, but it was something she did everyday, regardless. Anyway, she was dusting the mirror in the corner of Morgana's chambers when suddenly --

Her head hurt. That was really the only thought on her mind as she slowly gained consciousness. Her head hurt and she really didn't want to move. Ever again.

Forcing herself to sit up, she slowly opened her eyes and squinted. It was... really bright. And she didn't know where she was.

Everything was white and really, really clean... and bright. Did she mention that already? She was lying in a soft bed that was high off the ground and there was some ... thing that was frequently emitting loud, high noises next to her that had jagged lines on it.

"Oh good, you're awake," she heard from her left. She turned to see a girl, younger than her, sitting at her bedside, her expression saturated with relief.

"Wh-where am I?" Gwen's voice came out high and scared and she clenched her hands into the sheets.

"It's all right." The girl said, looking alarmed, "You're okay and no one's going to hurt you."

Gwen nodded.

"You're in hospital and my name's Alyssa."

Gwen had no idea what a hospital was. She shook her head slightly.

Alyssa looked a little confused. "Can you tell me your name?"

Gwen cleared her dry throat, "It's Guinevere."

* * *

Lyssa couldn't stop her mouth from falling open. "Guinevere?" she repeated, just to make sure she hadn't gone insane. "You're Guinevere?"

The girl nodded, looking a little frightened.

"Oh my dear God," Lyssa said, breathing deeply through her nose.

Lyssa had been friends with Jenny long enough to know who Guinevere was. Was this the world's idea of a sick and twisted joke? Was it a complete coincidence that a girl named _Guinevere_ showed up in the exact place where her friend Jenny had disappeared (and Adrianna she reminded herself a moment later, secondarily)?! Guinevere, as in the King Arthur Legends that Jenny loved, and Guinevere that Jenny hated?

She had to physically keep herself from hyperventilating, forcing the word _magic_ out of her brain.

"And you have no idea where you are?" were the words that found their way out of her mouth.

Guinevere shook her head again and there were tears in her eyes. "I don't even know what a hospital is!" she said. "And that noise...!"

"The heart monitor," Lyssa said, automatically, numbly.

There was silence for a moment.

Then Lyssa looked up. "Where are you from?" she asked, a dreadful, sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Camelot. Where am I now?"

There it was. And Lyssa took a deep, deep breath, steeling herself.

She spoke quickly, urgently, "I need you to listen to me. You're a far, far way from home and the people here, they don't like magic," she paused briefly at the word, letting it out of it's box, and then rushed on. "And that's what happened. You mustn't tell them you're from Camelot. You've lost you're memory!" Lyssa invented wildly. "And you don't remember anything, alright?!"

"Magic!" Guinevere said fearfully. "But I don't know Magic. I was just cleaning the mirror - "  
"The mirror-!" -and then- "Shh!" Lyssa warned as the door opened and she stood up.

A kind, slightly harrassed-looking doctor came in, carrying a red clipboard. He smiled warmly at Guinevere and Lyssa sighed, attempting to get her hands to stop shaking, her heart beating frantically against her ribs. "Oh good, you're up."

Guinevere nodded, shooting Lyssa a distressed look.

"I'm Dr Harrison. Now, Alyssa's been keeping you company, right? How long have you been awake?"

"She just woke up now, like, two minutes ago." Lyssa explained for her.

"Er - yes." Guinevere said self-consciously, tugging slightly on her black, wiry curls.

"All right," he said, marking something off on his clipboard. "Well, we found you passed out on the floor next to Alyssa in a museum," he said. "And I'm sure you want to go home, yeah? So, I just need you to fill this out."

He passed Guinevere paperwork that she stared at.

"I think she has amnesia!" Lyssa blurted out suddenly. "When she woke up, I asked her her name but she said she couldn't remember."

Dr Harrison looked alarmed. "Is this true?"

Guinevere nodded, "I don't know anything," she said, the slightly frightened tone working for her case.

The doctor sighed and looked at Guinevere sympathetically. "This makes everything a whole lot more complicated."

* * *

They'd kicked her out of the room so now she was sitting in the waiting room. The hospital had called her mother but she wouldn't be there for at least another couple of hours.

Also, a nurse had checked her over as soon as possible, claiming there'd been blood at the scene. Lyssa wasn't bleeding, though. That would have been Jenny's blood.

Mr Sloan was at the hospital too, since he was supervisor on the trip and followed the ambulance. He was talking with policemen about the fact that two of his students had gone missing, looking anxious. Lyssa swallowed thickly at the thought. She was sure they'd think them kidnapped. Coincidences, as she discovered earlier, were unlikely and they'd probably find a way to connect the mirror incident (and the blood, as neither she or Guinevere were bleeding) to Adrianna and Jenny. And, she just realized in horror, she'd talked about Jenny disappearing when she woke up.

A nervous knot was starting to form in her stomach. Would they ask her what she knew?

And _what_ was taking that doctor so long with Guinevere?

"Alyssa Velusi?"

Lyssa looked up at the sound of her name to find a man in a police uniform looking at her kindly. "I don't know where they are," she said automatically, feeling oddly detached.

"That's all right," he said. "I just need to ask you a few questions."

Lyssa nodded dumbly. "No problem." She forced a fake smile.

Yes, very, very big problem.

Her mum arrived an hour and fifteen minutes later and pulled Lyssa into a big hug. "Oh, Lyssa."

Lyssa managed to wriggle out of her mother's grasp.

"I suppose they sent the other kids home?" she asked, brushing her daughter's bangs away from her eyes.

Lyssa nodded, "Mr Sloan stayed with me."

"Have they found them?"

Swallowing thickly, Lyssa shook her head. "Mum -"

"They will." Ms Velusi said insistantly but, of course, unless Policemen could travel through magic mirrors, Lyssa knew they wouldn't. She'd come to the conclusion that it was up to her. And for that, she needed Guinevere.

"Mum!" She tried again and this time caught her mother's attention. She was all worry lines and kind smiles that currently didn't reach her eyes. And Lyssa knew that she was looking at herself in the future. "Mum, there's this girl. She was there, when I woke up from passing out, or whatever happened, and she woke up, but she doesn't remember anything."

"Oh," Her mum gasped, hand flying to her mouth.

"I want her to stay with us. Please. Please."

Ms Velusi bit her lip and Lyssa could understand the hesitance completely - it was such a big decision. But it was necessary and Lyssa wouldn't take no for an answer.

"She has no where to go," she started protesting when her mother didn't respond, sounding desperate. "Please!"

Ms Velusi sighed, giving in and Lyssa mirrored it, sighing in relief.

At that moment, when Lyssa almost allowed herself a smile, Mr Sloan cleared his throat. He looked slightly pained and Lyssa hadn't noticed him come over.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he started, "but I have something that I think I should give to Lyssa."

She turned to him questioningly and he held out a blue notebook, the cover tattered and falling off. Lyssa's breath caught in her throat and she accepted it without hesitancy, holding it to her chest.

* * *

They were keeping Guinevere overnight for observation, Dr Harrison had said. There were signs of a concussion, for which Lyssa thanked her lucky stars, so they were attributing the memory loss to that. Lyssa really had to hand it to Guinevere though. There was probably a lot of good acting on her part.

Then they, if the memory loss persisted, would release her into the care of a responsible adult, aka Lyssa's mother. She was so thankful. It was working and they were going to get away with it.

The drive home was silent, Lyssa clutching the little notebook like it was her lifeline, somehow, instinctively knowing it was important, and thinking.

She needed to fix this.


	4. Tipsy, Topsy, Turvy

_Author's Note:_

And so you are presented with Chapter Four. You know, I definitely meant to update this on Friday and I want to apologise because I clearly didn't, even after I promised some of you that I would. I blame exams. My Biology exam killed me and I felt like death the next day. Even now, my time would probably be better spent if I was studying for my Anthropology or Chemistry exams, which are both tomorrow. Especially since I feel like I don't know anything about titrations, which are evil, evil things. I mean, who cares about acid/base buffers anyway?!

All right-y, now that I've disturbed you with Chemistry (for which I also apologise), I should probably get on with the chapter, the reason you clicked the link on the previous page, yeah?

_Warnings:_ References to _The Once and Future King_ by TH White, references to parts of the legend not included in _The Once and Future King_.

_Disclaimer:_ I, very clearly, do not own Merlin or anything affiliated with it. I do own this story, Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and any other original character that makes an appearance.

And I thank **Punk Chopsticks** and **GoldenAura** for reviewing. Reviews are clearly equivalent to heart!

Now, without any further author's ramblings, please enjoy Chapter Four. Read and Review!

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**-- Chapter Four: Tipsy, Topsy, Turvy --**

Adrianna's day had started out completely, totally, perfectly normal. Or was it yesterday, now? Or was it hundreds of years in the future? Time travel was really confusing.

Then after all that perfection, somehow, everything seemed to slide downhill. And it wasn't a clean slide either, it was messy and infuriating.

And, clearly, they needed a plan.

* * *

It really wasn't one of those times, I thought as I slowly came into consciousness. I'd half expected this to be the product of a dream induced by too much excitement at the museum, but here I was lying on a stone floor with a very painful crick in my neck.

Somehow, amid the worries and the crying, Adrianna and I had managed a handful of sleep. My eyes hurt, and my stomach hurt, and I hurt. But there weren't any windows in the cell and so I couldn't even begin to guess at the time. But I knew we didn't have much longer.

"Jenny?" I looked over to her. She'd clearly been awake before me but I could tell she'd not spoken in forever because of how scratchy her voice was. "Jenny, I'm sorry." There weren't any tears left, though.

I knew she was apologising for everything in the last few years. All of the taunting and the hurtful remarks. The teasing. I laughed a little and smiled, "It's all right." And then, after a minute, "You know, this is where I always wanted to be, in this time, but I didn't think it would be like this. And I hadn't ever told anyone, till you read my notebook... I guess I'm completely hopeless. And you were mostly right; I am a freak."

"No!" Adrianna said, "No, Jenny, you're not."

"Yes I am!" I said with heat. "You know, at first before you tugged at my arm, I was _happy_?! I was happy to be here. And now, I just want to go home."

My confession led to silence.

"What time do you think it is?" I asked after a moment, unconsciously feeling the cut on my cheek again

Adrianna rolled her eyes, "Not sure," she answered. "My watch stopped working the minute we ended up here."

"Oh."

* * *

There were footsteps and I looked toward Adrianna quickly, swallowing nervously. Was it time? Adrianna closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the stone wall. My heart was beating a tattoo against my chest and I clenched my fists. Of course there was no way out - no windows, the barred door was locked.

I knew everything there was to know about witch burnings. They would tie me to a pyre with rope, probably too tight to properly breathe. They would make it public and the town's people would watch. _Kill the witch!_ they'd shout. And the smoke from the fire would suffocate me before I burned. Unless they were cruel - they'd choose a wood that, when burned, didn't create smoke. I could almost feel the flames licking up my skin.

Adrianna interrupted my thoughts and I startled with a yelp. She was clutching to my arm again and she covered my mouth with her hand. "Listen!" she hissed.

And I did. There was a sort of clanging and some shouting by the guards and the slapping sound of footsteps leading away from our cell.

We sighed in relief in unison - it wasn't us.

"Hi!"

With a gasp, I jumped back, right into Adrianna, stepping painfully on her toe.

"Ouch! Jenny!"

"Sorry!"

And there was light.

Looking through the bars of our cage, there was an eerie glow caused by fire light. It was coming from a boy and he was fumbling for something in the pocket of his jacket and trying to hold a torch at the same time. He was clearly out of breath and panting

"Who-" Adrianna started but she was quickly silenced by a loud crash from somewhere above us.

"Quickly!" he said.

I picked up Adrianna's question, "Who are you?"

"I'm Merlin," he said quickly, glancing over his shoulder and still fishing through his pocket. "But that doesn't matter right now. I'm here to get you out."

I couldn't help it - it was too much - I started laughing. Adrianna, thankfully, pinched me and went on. "Can't you just use magic, then?!" she asked desperately.

He looked at us in horror, "But I brought keys!"

We all glanced up when there was shouting from above us.

Merlin, who was clearly frustrated, hastily set the torch into a wall bracket and dug through his pocket, coming out with a clanging set of keys. Clumsily, he fitted the key to the lock and the door swung open with a loud whine.

And we were running, Adrianna clutching to his hand as he lead us, and me holding to her's like my life depended on it. "What did you do with the guards?" she asked as we pushed through the door that lead to the stairs that lead to the cells.

"They're the night guards," he explained quickly as he looked around. "They're not too bright."

The sound of voices and people caused him to stop, drawing us into a secluded corner. The guards ran past our small corner without seeing us and I breathed a sigh of relief. Quickly checking right and left, Merlin beckoned us out and we were running again, me fighting to keep up with them. Running was never my strong suit and my throat was raw and I clutched a stitch under my ribs.

Finally, thankfully, without running into anyone else, he slowed ahead of Adrianna and me and opened a door, pulling us both in quickly and bolting it shut.

Panting, I doubled over and tried to catch my breath. Adrianna, who was on the track team at school, was perfectly fine and when I looked at her, she was smiling. I couldn't help but stare at her incredulously.

"Um-um, you can sit down," the boy who claimed he was Merlin said awkwardly. "You should be safe here for now. Er- I'm going to find a way so that you don't have to hide."

As I collapsed into a chair, I looked around the room. It was an organized mess, like my bedroom at home. Stacks of books covered every surface and there were even more piles of papers, carefully sorted it looked like. In addition, beakers and test tubes in racks littered the surfaces.

"You," I said, my voice embarrassingly breathy, "Cannot be Merlin."

Adrianna turned to me, her face the picture of horror. "Jenny! I think we've established within the last twenty-four hours that, really, nothing is that way we thought, no?!"

She was angry and I was being beyond rude but I didn't care, "No!" I said childishly. "I know the legends! Everyone should know, would know, that this cannot be Merlin!"

Never mind my ready acceptance that this was not only History but _the_ legend, _the_ legend, I couldn't just accept this. I couldn't. But, again, as when I'm frustrated, the inability to say exactly was I was thinking was creeping up on me and Merlin was looking at me in what I think was a mixture of curiosity, surprise, and incredulity.

"Everyone knows that Merlin is the wizard who helps King Arthur and that he's old with a pointed hat and --"

I was cut off as the doorknob rattled, "What on Earth -?" There was a voice, "Merlin!"

Merlin, wincing, unlocked the door and opened it a crack, "Hi, Gaius! How're you? You know, I think your time right now might better be used treating--"

Gaius, the person I assumed he was talking to, pushed the door open. And he stood there, in what was evidently shock, as he looked over Adrianna and me. "Merlin, what have you done this time?"

And the bells that signalled our escape went off.

* * *

"And you're sure they won't find us here?" Adrianna asked once we'd completely gotten the introductions out of the way, which had been awkward at best...

* * *

Gaius had pulled Merlin over to the corner. He thought this was because Gaius didn't want the girls to hear what they were saying but it was probably pointless. Their quarters were small enough that whispers carried across the room.

"Merlin, this better not be what I think it is."

Merlin managed a grimace, "It ... depends on what you think it is," he said, really, really disliking the look Gaius was giving him. It was _the_ look again.

"Merlin!" Gaius said exasperatedly, frustrated. Somehow, he could make just Merlin's name sound like a scolding.

"I know, I know!" He said, throwing his hands up dramatically. "What was I supposed to do, Gaius? I couldn't let them die!"

"We don't even know if they're innocent!" Gaius said in an incredibly more hushed voice than Merlin.

"We are!" one of the girls, the pretty one with curly brown hair, said heatedly. "We don't even know magic."

"Adrianna!" the small one hissed frantically. Her blonde hair was pulled back and she had blood smeared across the left side of her face.

Gaius sighed and looked toward Merlin, "If they get caught, I knew nothing."

"Of course!" Merlin said nervously. "Um... Adrianna and Jenny, right?" he clarified.

Adrianna nodded and Jenny sighed.

"This is the Court Physician, Gaius." Merlin introduced, smiling.

The girl named Jenny muttered something that sounded vaguely like, "Of course he is," and let her head drop noisily onto the table. Adrianna smiled, looking apologetic and kind of embarrassed.

She cleared her throat, "So, why did you bother with the keys when you could have just used magic?" she asked.

Before Merlin had even a chance to react, other than to jump back in alarm and knock his foot painfully into the chair in the corner, Gaius turned to him.

"Merlin! You used magic in front of them?" Again, with the simple sentences sounding like scolding.

"No!" he insisted loudly, "Gaius, I didn't! They just knew, I swear! That's why there were keys!"

This was all turning into one big mess, fast.

"He didn't." Adrianna said. "When he told us he was Merlin, Jenny and I assumed that he could ... you know, do magic. Because he was Merlin."

Merlin could only imagine the look of great disbelief he was giving her.

Jenny lifted her head from the desk and looked up and he noticed that she had a small red mark on her forehead from the table. Staring straight at him, she said, "We're from the future."

There was a heartbeat's pause ... and then another one. And another.

"You're serious?"

As if confirming, Adrianna nodded. "Got another explanation for our strange clothes? Or, if you want, we could tell you things you already know that would make us seem like creepy stalkers, but we're not."

They were rather odd. They were wearing men's clothing that looked sort of feminized. Brightly coloured tunics that were shaped oddly and pants made from a thick, blue material. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Um…"

"If you're from the future, how in the world did you end up here? Without magic." Gaius asked sceptically.

Jenny's hand rose almost unconsciously to touch her cheek that had the cut on it. "We fell into a mirror."

"A mirror?" Gaius questioned. "What kind of mirror?"

"Jenny was just looking at it," Adrianna said, taking over but she was staring at Jenny, not at them. "And she tripped and knocked me into it as well. Then next thing we knew we were here, in the street."

Gaius gave Merlin what he thought was a significant look. "Merlin, you should look after that cut," he said, effectively changing the subject and nodding toward Jenny. "We don't want it to get infected."

"Yes, Gaius."

Gaius looked at him sternly, "Yes, well with any luck, without the blood no one will recognize her. They'll need a change of clothing, as well."

* * *

It was the middle of the night and the three of them were in Merlin's room. Gaius had, unsurprisingly, gone to sleep.

"And you're sure that they won't find us here?" Adrianna asked, her voice sounding nervous as she sat on a patch of floor that was visible.

"For now," Merlin answered as he sat Jenny down and proceeded to wipe the blood from her face with a cloth. Slowly, pale skin and a thin layer of freckles were revealed. The poor girl seemed to be in shock.

He glanced over at Adrianna, who looked to be waiting for an explanation. "The king hates magic," he replied. "It's banned from all of Camelot on penalty of death and he doesn't stop at anything when it comes to eradicating it. Probably, he'll search the city, if he isn't already."

Suddenly, Jenny flinched away from him. "Sorry," he muttered, realizing he was nearing the gash. "Did this happen when the mirror broke?"

Jenny nodded. "So what are we going to do when he searches the city?" she asked, looking and sounding thoroughly depressed.

Merlin considered, "We need to find a way to get you two home, obviously, but a disguise should probably fool them for a bit."

"What do you have in mind?" Adrianna asked.

"Well, no one notices the servants," Merlin said, now dabbing the cut with ointment. "So, tomorrow, you'll just have to act the part and no one will spare you a second glance."

* * *

They both looked tired so Merlin was unsurprised when Adrianna had fallen asleep on the floor of his room in the middle of a conversation.

Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he asked Jenny what he'd been wondering since he'd broken them out of the cells.

"What did you mean, I can't be Merlin?"

Jenny groaned, "It's complicated." But when she looked up at him she sighed, relenting. Sitting on the floor leaning against the side of his bed, she sighed again. "The problem is, everything's so topsy-turvy here. Nothing's like it should be. It's like... it's tilted on an angle or turned completely upside down. I love History and I'm in it, now! But I don't know anything anymore. All my life, I've been some freak who knew too much about everything that was irrelevant and now I'm finding out I didn't know anything at all." She took a deep breath and tried to start over, he thought.

"In my time, everyone knows who you are. Or, at least, who you're supposed to be. You're Merlin, all powerful wizard, the one who lives backward in time and the one who made the deal with King Uther about Arthur's birth and taught him through magic to appreciate diversity. You set him up for greatness and for his fall, who gave him the idea for the Round Table and instilled his sense of justice. You're the one who fell in love with Nimueh or Vivienne and she tricked you and trapped you in a cave.

"The legend never had magic being banned! Why in the world would he ban magic?! Or-or -- You were never a servant! You were never young, either! You look like you're my age!"

Merlin didn't know what to say. Certainly none of those things had happened - or would ever happen. Some of them sounded insane! Nimueh? Nimueh was evil! And King Uther would never make a deal with a sorcerer. So instead of thinking, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "I'm twenty next month."

Jenny sighed, "Adrianna told me to just accept it. That nothing is the way it's supposed to be. But I have all these expectations and it's a little bit hard to turn them off."

He was half-curious and half-repulsed by the legends in Jenny's time and he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear any more. And then suddenly, something horrible occurred to him.

"Do you know about my friend Gwen?"

Jenny pulled a face and it didn't suit her. "As in Guinevere?" she confirmed.

Merlin nodded, not understanding the tone. "She went missing --"

"Guinevere's missing?!" Jenny said loudly, her face the picture of horror.

"No one's seen her in almost two days and Morgana --"

"Morgana!" Jenny said, her expression more terrified by the minute.

He paused, thoroughly confused, "Do I want to know?"

She told him anyway, "Morgana - Morgan Le Fey - Morgaine - whatever she's known as, she's never a good person." Then, probably seeing his face, she added, "In our legends."

"Morgana is my friend," he said confidently.

"I believe you," Jenny assured quietly. "Like I said, everything's different."

Merlin pushed on, "Gwen is her maidservant and Lady Morgana's worried. I'm worried. Do you know anything?"

"She's a maid?" At his nod, she swallowed and shook her head. "I don't remember Guinevere ever going missing but I was operating on the assumption that she was que--" She broke off suddenly and her eyes widened. "It's my fault."

"What do you mean?" he asked quickly as she stood up and started pacing. He stood too.

"It's my fault! Before we crashed into the Mirror, I was thinking about how much I hated her character and how she ruined everything and --" She flushed darkly, "How, if I were her, I'd do things differently and -- Merlin, what if she's on the other side of the Mirror?!"


	5. An All Round Mirror

_Author's Note: _

Hello! It's me again :) And _Not One of Those Times_ has made it to it's fifth chapter, which I think is quite significant. Yes, anyway, I suppose I shall get on with it...

_Warnings:_ AU after Season One: Episode Eight, Spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White  
_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Merlin or anything associated with it but I do own this story and Jenny, Adrianna, and Lyssa and any other original characters that may appear.

Also, thank-you to **GoldenAura** for reviewing. Reviews equal love :)

And now, without further interruption, please read, review, and enjoy! (Also, as a side/after-note, if anyone has questions about the title...)

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**-- Chapter Five: An All-Round Mirror --**

Morgana's day had started out completely, totally, perfectly normal. And then it had gone completely, totally, and perfectly downhill.

She hadn't been sleeping well lately. She never really slept well, despite Gaius' sleeping draughts, but since Gwen had disappeared... She didn't like to think about it. Unfortunately, she was finding not thinking about it near impossible. Gwen was a loyal servant and her best friend and, as she found out recently, she really hated having to do everything by herself. And she missed her terribly.

* * *

Adrianna's mouth dropped open, "Your theory is _what_?!"

Jenny, looking pathetic and tired, sighed. "Well, Guinevere's disappeared and so --"

Adrianna cut her off. "Thanks. That was rhetorical. What in the world gave you two that stupid idea?" she snapped. "Never mind, don't answer that either," she said as Jenny opened her mouth to explain yet again.

It was the next morning and though she felt considerably more rested than the previous night she was also jittery and felt disgusting. What she would have done for a nice, long bath -- she cut herself off at that thought. There was no point in fantasizing.

Merlin had gone to fetch them some proper clothes, where she had no clue, but what she did know was that Jenny was getting on her last nerve. It's funny, she thought, annoyed, that when you're no longer in mortal peril you don't feel the need to apologise for things you really did mean at the time.

Jenny pursed her lips and said nothing, avoiding her gaze.

The silence was all right, though. It gave Adrianna time to think.

Was it actually possible that Guinevere had ended up on the 'other side of the mirror', as Jenny had called it? She wasn't terribly familiar with the King Arthur legends and she really only knew the basics but something told her that time travel didn't make its way in there anywhere.

What was happening on the other side of the mirror anyway? Was time moving forward as usual? Did it stop? Was her mother worried about her? What about Brittany? Where did everyone think they'd gone? And then she remembered Alyssa. She'd been there! She saw what happened. Would she have told anyone?

Her thought process was interrupted as Merlin threw the door to Gaius's chambers open, smiling brightly. "I've found some clothes," he said, dumping an armful onto the bench and beginning to sort them out.

"Where did you find them?" Jenny asked interestedly, getting up and joining him.

"Oh, you know ... around."

Adrianna sighed, "You totally stole them, didn't you?"

Merlin looked up, blushing slightly, "No! ... I just ... took them from the laundry... It's not stealing ..."

Jenny doubled over, laughing and smiling. She, it seemed, was in a terrific mood since last night. Adrianna rolled her eyes. Merlin and Jenny seemed to have bonded in a way. And it was an odd thing to watch.

Or, if she thought about it some, it wasn't so odd. They were both awkward, and if she was honest, awkward people got along with other awkward people, didn't they?

Merlin was all limbs. He was tall and gangly and pale with big ears. He was all hand gestures and had an inability to sit still, it seemed, with the exuberance of a puppy.

Adrianna had been in Jenny's class since grade five and had been making fun of her at least since they were eleven years old. She kept her hair in a messy ponytail at all times, her dusting of freckles made more prominent. Her entire appearance shouted _over eager!_ and _I'm nerdy!_ and everything else that could possibly make someone seem awkward.

Yes, she thought after a moment. It made perfect sense that they'd get along.

* * *

"You are kidding, right?"

"Um, no."

She was dressed in the most hideous outfit. It was ... it was ... a _serving girl's dress._ It was brown and boring and drab and Adrianna hated it. With her entire life.

Sighing, Adrianna winced and wrinkled her nose. She couldn't even look at her reflection; mirrors weren't common in servant's quarters, it seemed. She pulled her hair back severely and managed to wipe the dirt that had gathered on her face over the last two days off. "Is anyone going to recognize me?" she asked.

Merlin looked at her critically, "Probably not," he answered. "Not unless they look really close."

"And Jenny?"

They turned to her. Even with the serving girl's dress and a clean face, the problem they had was the gash that ran from her temple to her jaw. It was a dead give away. "Come here," she said, vaguely annoyed and it showed in her tone.

Meekly, Jenny stepped forward and Adrianna roughly turned her around. She tugged the elastic from Jenny's hair and it tumbled in a mess of knots to her shoulders. "Ouch, Adrianna!" she whined.

"Oh, shut up." She towed her fingers through it until it looked half-way presentable. Making a face, Adrianna pushed Jenny away, "Good enough. Just don't touch it."

"Fine." Jenny glared, stepping back.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Adrianna asked as she and Merlin made their way down a stone hallway. Whenever anyone passed, she kept her head down, just in case.

"I was telling Jenny last night that Gwen is the Lady Morgana's servant. Someone needs to tidy her chambers. That's all you need to do."

"You're replacing Gwen with me?" Adrianna asked in disbelief.

Merlin looked horrified, "No! ... It's just her chambers should probably be cleaned, if someone else hasn't done it already. Just say you were sent to do it in Gwen's place, if she asks."

Somehow, Adrianna really didn't think this was the best plan in the world. There were a lot of flaws but before she had a chance to point any of them out, Merlin stopped in front of a wooden door. Seemingly seeing the frightened look on Adrianna's face he sighed and rapped three times on the door.

There wasn't an answer.

"See?" Merlin said, opening the door and giving Adrianna a small push inside. "Nothing's going to bite."

She could've killed him, really.

He was supposed to be helpful! This was _not_ helpful.

As Adrianna turned around, her breath caught in her throat. The room was beautiful. The sun was shining through the windows and it splayed onto the bed, which was unmade. Everything was fit for a princess.

She shook herself slightly and stood there, wondering exactly what 'cleaning Morgana's chambers' entailed. She supposed she could make the bed...

As Adrianna stared down at the mess of tangled sheets and a heavy bed cover, she had a strange sinking feeling in her stomach. Which _was_ the sheet...? There was more than one?! Shifting through them, she found four separate cloths that looked as though they could have been the sheets. Thoroughly confused, Adrianna set about attempting to get them to fit around the bed...

It wasn't a very good job, she thought, her eyebrows knitting together five minutes later. But the covers were on straight ... maybe. Biting her lip, she turned away.

What else could she do? With her hands on her hips, she surveyed the room. It was actually pretty clean as it was, she thought. Maybe she should open the window...? To let some air in?

But the window wouldn't open. As far as she could tell, there was either a terribly complicated latch that Adrianna was too stupid to know how to unlock or it was glued shut. She thought perhaps that it was the first one. Giving up, she stepped back and looked for something else to do. Maybe she could dust something?

... but with what?

The sun cast a reflection that caught her eye. In the corner of the room there was a tall mirror. It was beautiful with a silver frame and fabulous shaping. Not being able to resist it, Adrianna looked at her reflection.

Ew. Did the maidservant dress have to be so --?

"Who are you?"

As Adrianna spun around, her mouth opened to form a reply before she realized she didn't have one.

Staring at her was the Lady Morgana. And she was every bit as beautiful as her room or her mirror. Dark curls flowed down to the small of her back and her blue-grey eyes were piercing. "I-I was sent in place of your maidservant," Adrianna managed to stutter out. Damn. How in the world was she supposed to address Morgana?

"You were sent in place of Gwen?" she asked sharply.

Adrianna nodded, "I can - I can go, if you want." And than as an after thought, "Milady."

Morgana was looking at her critically and it made Adrianna feel self-conscious. It was a strange feeling. Adrianna was usually the one doing the intimidating but Morgana was most definitely the most intimidating person she'd ever met. She exuded confidence.

"Bring my breakfast tomorrow morning," Morgana said, nodding her head.

Adrianna sighed in relief and inclined her head. She was very clearly dismissed.

* * *

Morgana's day clearly couldn't get any stranger. That servant girl - there was something about her... She studied her room, feeling the need to. Why had she been looking at her mirror?

... And another question: where in the world did that maid learn how to make a bed?!

* * *

Arthur's day had started out completely, totally, perfectly normal. Or as completely, totally, and perfectly normal as his days ever got, that is. What with bumbling manservants who _always managed to be late_... If it wasn't, "Sorry, Sire, I overslept" it was "Sorry, Sire, I tripped on the way up here and had to go back for your breakfast" with that _infuriating_ way he said Sire, like he was mocking it.

No, if that wasn't enough, he had to be up at the _break of dawn_ to search all of Camelot for two idiotic sorceresses, who had somehow managed to escape. They had _materialized_, appeared out of _thin air,_ in the middle of the street yesterday with about twenty eyewitnesses. He hadn't actually been present himself but it sounded like pretty advanced magic. Yet, there was something about his knights' accounts that made it all very complicated to think about.

He really hated when things became complicated.

* * *

I sat in Gaius' quarters, feeling kind of in the way. Just after Merlin left with Adrianna, claiming he'd come back to show me where I was supposed to be for the day, Gaius had come back. He was mixing things with flasks and beakers and other things Lyssa would know about but I hadn't a clue. I was intensely curious but I made myself sit still. It was clear to me that Adrianna and I were an inconvenience and I didn't want to upset anyone.

Nervous and excited and - and - and - really, deliriously _happy_ were all words that I could have used to describe my emotional state. Thankfully, I wasn't shaking, though. I just couldn't stop grinning.

So what if it wasn't exactly like the legend? Surely nothing could be so different after all that I'd already seen. It would be very hard to surprise me now, I thought triumphantly.

The door opened discreetly and Merlin slipped back in, grinning. "Hello, Gaius. Have they come yet?"

Gaius sighed heavily and peered at Merlin in a very seeing way. "Not yet," he replied heavily. "You better hope that this plan of yours works, Merlin, because there could be serious consequences if it doesn't."

"Gaius, I know!" Merlin said, his tone coming dangerously close to being considered what Lyssa would call whiney. "It will. Just trust me."

"If only it were that simple."

Merlin rolled his eyes and turned to me. "Come on. I've got a special job for you."

I smiled and heard Gaius mumble something behind me that sounded a lot like "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

I followed him out of the room, glancing back at Gaius as we went. "What am I going to be doing?"

"Well, there were really only two options. Adrianna's acting as Morgana's maidservant for now and you will be taking my job for the day. Or, at least, part of my job. The hard part's already done."

"How come you didn't choose me for Morgana's maid?" I asked curiously as I compulsively made sure my hair covered the cut on my face. I was becoming a little paranoid, I think.

Merlin looked at me and smiled a little, "Well, she was really close with Gwen... and Jenny is a close name to that and so..."

I nodded. Ever since I'd read _The Once and Future King_, I'd always really, really hated that fact about my name. Jenny was usually used for shortening Jennifer, which was the Cornish version of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, or Guinevere. In the book, Lancelot always referred to Guinevere as his Jenny. I shuddered. Were there such things as coincidences anymore? Because, really, it was all getting rather ridiculous.

Then I realized Merlin was talking.

" - Just keep your head down. If he comes back, don't back talk and just..." He sighed, and we stopped in front of a very heavy looking door.

He was looking at me with blue eyes and I felt self-conscious, "What?"

"You have to keep your hair _down_. If he sees the cut --"

Horrified, I tugged my hair from behind my ear and tried to flatten it as best possible. "Sorry. I will, I promise."

"All right. He should be at training right now, so..." Just to make sure, I think, Merlin knocked hard on the door. When no one answered, he pushed it open. "All you have to do is tidy up."

I paused, "And this is your usual job?" I asked.

Merlin nodded.

"So what are you going to do while Adrianna and I are cleaning?"

Smiling, Merlin said, "Well, I have to find a way to get you home, don't I?"

"... Okay."

As I stepped into the room, I was struck by how big it was. Compared to Gaius' quarters, these were humongous. It must have been a very important person who stayed here... Did Merlin ever tell me who he served? I asked myself. He must've and I probably wasn't paying attention.

The first thing that made sense for me to do was open a window. Flicking the latch up, I pushed the window open and breathed in deeply. Now that my stomach wasn't completely tied in a knot, I couldn't keep the smile off my face, it seemed.

Spinning around, my eyes fell on the mess of covers and sheets that were halfway off the bed. I quickly stripped it down and remade it as neatly as I could. When it was to perfection, I smiled and sighed.

Seriously, I thought as I organized the small table that sat against the wall, I could have happily lived this life. There wasn't any school to worry about and no teasing. I seemed to fit right in, like a puzzle piece without any forcing or bending my corners.

I had picked up a heavy goblet and was about to set it aside, out of the way, when --

"Who are you and what are you doing in my chambers?"

I startled, gasping loudly so that it echoed, and the goblet flew out of my hands and into the air as I jumped. As I spun around violently and my hands flew to my chest to grasp at my heart, I winced as the goblet clanged noisily to the floor.

Standing in front of me was a man who towered over me. His presence was intimidating and I swallowed thickly. "I-I -" I took a deep breath as he looked at me expectantly and impatiently. "I - Merlin asked me to clean your chambers -" Shoot, I didn't even know how to address him. Taking a wild guess, I added, "My Lord?" It sounded like a question.

He had blond hair and blue eyes and was wearing chainmail and a heavy red cape. He reminded me of those boys at school that every girl fawned over; nothing special. He looked annoyed and yet as if he half expected this. "And why isn't Merlin here himself?"

Thinking fast, I bent down to grab the goblet off the floor and lied straight through my teeth. "Gaius had an urgent errand for him to do. He asked me to let you know he'd be back later."

I inclined my head, trying to convey respect. My heart was hammering against my ribs. I didn't even know who this was and I wasn't sure I was doing anything right.

"And who are you?"

"I'm- uh, I'm Jenny, My Lord."

Compulsively, I flattened my hair.

He looked like he was about to say something when his door flew open. A very pretty, very proud looking woman stepped in. She had ivory skin, flowing dark hair, and breathtaking eyes. Somehow, I knew. This was always how I pictured Morgan Le Fey.

"Arthur, I --" And then her eyes caught on me.

But something vital had jarred in my brain.

Arthur.

_ARTHUR?!_

She was looking me over, confused, wondering what she just walked in on but I could tell I wasn't wearing any expression. My brain just went in a horrified circle, around and around and around, like a merry-go-round. _Arthur. This was King Arthur. Arthur. In front of me now, Arthur._

They were saying something --

"--Where's Merlin?"

"How should I know? The idiot's shirking his duties again. You'd think he'd be happy to serve the Prince of Camelot but--"

_Prince? PRINCE?!_

I had to grip the table behind me to keep from falling; my knees were suddenly weak under me. _Arthur _was a _Prince_?! But - but -- my mind stuttered. I pushed myself to stand straight and swallowed. I needed to get out of there.

"Excuse me, my Lord, Milady." My voice shook slightly and in my haste as I pushed myself away from the table, I knocked the goblet back onto the floor with a loud crash.

* * *

In a very, very bad mood, Adrianna pushed the door to Gaius' chambers open and frowned. Merlin was sitting at the table, with his head on a book, _sleeping_. Thoroughly unimpressed, she pushed him roughly, "Wake up."

He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, stretching like a child. Then he saw the look on her face.  
"Adrianna!"

She rolled her eyes. "So, Morgana's scary. Thanks for the warning."

"She just misses Gwen," he said, then, "Did she like you?"

Staring at him like he was stupid, Adrianna answered, "No! ... but she told me to bring her breakfast tomorrow morning."

"That's a good sign!" Merlin insisted.

And then there was a crash. Jenny had flung the door open violently and threw herself inside the small room. The expression on her face was scary; she looked like she just saw someone die. Then, with what seemed like a frightened glance at both Adrianna and Merlin, she crossed the room quickly, retreated to Merlin's bedroom, and slammed the door.

After a small silence, Adrianna spoke.

"... she does know that's _your_ room, right?"

* * *

I slid down against the door.

Apparently, I had no knowledge of anything.

Nothing was the way it was supposed to be.

And I hated it.

I pushed my hair out of my face and tugged at it frustratedly. Nowhere in any of anything I'd ever read said that Arthur was a prince. Or such a jerk.

He was supposed to be --

I sighed and rested my head against the door behind me.

I could hear Adrianna and Merlin talking.

_"Why is she so upset?"_ That was Merlin's voice.

I pictured Adrianna sighing, maybe rolling her eyes, _"Do you think it's possible to be in love with a fictional character?"_

Merlin would definitely be wearing a confused face, _"I don't know!"_

_"Jenny is."_ And Adrianna would look down at her hands, her tone half disbelieving and half sad. _"She kept this notebook and, well, my friend and I read it..."_ Apparently Merlin wasn't impressed because the next thing Adrianna said was, _"I apologised, all right?! Anyway, she -- Jenny's difficult. She's weird. Everything she's ever read about Arthur tells her he's this hero who, I don't know, has a perfect sense of justice and always does what's right. I believe the words I remember reading were 'He's kind, and generous, and has an enormous heart'. There was something about selflessness, too."_

_"That doesn't sound like the Arthur I know. He's a prat."_

Adrianna would smile a little here.

_"Brittany, my friend, she said something, and it was just a joke, but Jenny -- she's never reacted to teasing that way before."_

And Merlin asked,_ "What did she say?"_

_"She asked her what she'd do if she were Guinevere."_

And of course, Merlin would be confused again. After all, Guinevere can't be Queen if Arthur's not King.

_"But- I don't understand. Gwen and Arthur barely even talk to each other. She's a servant and he's a prince."_

Smiling sadly now, _"Yes,"_ Adrianna agreed, _"but in the legend, she was his Queen."_


	6. Ockham's Razor

_Author's Note:_

So, as promised, here's chapter six! And it's back to the other side of the mirror for a while :D Um, I don't have too many notes this time and so...

_Warnings:_ AU after Season One: Episode Nine, Spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White (I decided episode nine now... because I'm cool like that. It won't make much of a difference).  
_Disclaimer: _I do not own Merlin or anything associated with Merlin but I do own this story and Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and Brittany and any other original characters that may appear.

All right-y! So, thank-you to **GoldenAura** and **Hayley's Happening** for reviewing the last chapter! It was much appreciated and reviews equal heart :)

Now, please read, review, and enjoy :) Also, a note on the title at the bottom :)

* * *

**-- Chapter Six: Ockham's Razor --**

Brittany's day had started out completely, totally, perfectly normal. It's true. Really. The end, however, wasn't quite as completely, totally, perfectly normal as she would have liked. For example, her best friend and her best enemy had seemingly run away together.

Or, at least, that would have been the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario (the one involving a lot of blood and a crazed rapist) she tried not to dwell on.

The only thing she knew about the day at the museum was that Adrianna had gone, against Brittany's advice, to apologise to Jenny and she never came back. There was some large broken mirror and some blood and a girl and Alyssa, who upon returning to consciousness spouted some nonsensical babble about Jeanette.

From this, she gathered that she'd probably be having a small chat with Lyssa very, very soon.

* * *

Jenny's handwriting was small and cramped and Lyssa had to lean in really close to read that next word. Ah, it was 'lonely'. She thought it might have been 'lovely' but that wouldn't have made very much sense in that sentence.

_It must've been lonely, having no one to confide in about those sorts of things._

That was the sentence. Lyssa pushed herself away from the desk and passed her hand over her face, instinctively glancing toward her bed, where Guinevere ("Gwen, call me Gwen," she'd said and Lyssa reminded herself) was sleeping.

There were so many things to think about and her mind was on overload, her thoughts racing. Jenny... She'd thought she'd known her best friend but now she was unsure. Lyssa recognized that she was the one who probably knew Jenny best in the world, including her parents. _That_ was one conversation she didn't like looking back on.

Jenny had always seemed pretty happy to Lyssa. Yes, she was bullied; yes, she was more than a little strange, but happy. The comments made by Adrianna and Brittany just seemed to roll right off of her, like that stupid children's rhyme -- _I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say will bounce off me and stick to you_. And everyone at some point in their lives has a want of going back in time; Lyssa knew that she surely had. But there was a difference between fantasizing about it and honestly, truly thinking that you belonged in another time. And Jenny did. If on the surface she was happy, she wasn't really. Never _really_ happy.

Lyssa closed the notebook, only a few entries in. It wasn't depressing but she was depressed by reading it.

And she couldn't sleep. When she dug out the cot, she lay on her back for what seemed like ever. Tossing, turning, twisting herself up in the blankets but sleep wouldn't grace her. And every time she did feel herself nodding off, she would jolt back awake and her heart would give a thud, like it was trying to restart itself. Essentially, that's what it was trying to do. Lyssa knew from Biology that if one was falling asleep too quickly, the body would register it like it was dying and attempt to electrically restart itself.

It wasn't helped by the fact that she couldn't seem to shut her brain off. Her mind kept going in circles, lingering on different things. It kept coming back to the conversation she'd had with Jenny's parents the day before they picked Gwen up from the hospital.

She'd rung the doorbell with shaking hands and Jenny's mother answered, her face red and her eyes swollen from crying. "Lyssa," she breathed in relief. "Come in, please."

She did, stepping into the cool shade of the doorway awkwardly. "Mrs Styles, how are you?"

The woman sniffed, tears suddenly in her eyes. "As well as can be expected. Have you heard anything from anyone? Has Jeanette --"

Lyssa shook her head and her heart clenched. She hated lying, hated having everyone believe her. "No," she looked down. "I brought you, um…" Suddenly feeling really stupid, she dug through her backpack and pulled out the container her mother had given her. "I brought cookies?"

"Oh." Mrs Styles took them. "Well, Jeanette will turn up right?"

She was seeking assurance and Lyssa nodded eagerly.

"I just don't understand! She knows not to do things like this! Why would she trust someone --?"

Lyssa swallowed thickly. "Jenny did know. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"She'll contact us first, right? Me, right? Her mother?"

Side-stepping around the question and taking a step back, hoping to indicate that she needed to leave, Lyssa smiled sadly. "If I hear anything I'll let you know, all right?"

The woman had nodded, her dark blonde hair falling around her face, her blue eyes cloudy with tears.

Mrs Styles' comment about Jenny made Lyssa wonder whether she'd ever actually understood her daughter at all.

* * *

It was really weird. Really, _really_ weird. She'd woken Queen Guinevere up and now she was getting ready for school. Deciding not to ponder on the strangeness of that sentence too long Lyssa quickly clipped her hair up and proceeded to rummage through her closet for something for Gwen to wear.

They hadn't talked very much, other than when Gwen told her to call her Gwen. Clearly, there needed to be a conversation soon but they were both too overwhelmed the previous night to do anything about it.

Coming out with a long brown skirt that her aunt had given her last year for Christmas that she'd never, ever worn and a warm dark blue sweater, she tossed them carelessly to the bed. When Gwen was ready, she looked normal enough. And for the first time, Lyssa really noticed her. She had dark, tight curls currently pinned out of her face, and coffee coloured skin. But, even if Lyssa tilted her head and squinted, there was no way she could see Gwen as Queen Guinevere. Something didn't click there, for some reason.

"What am I to do for the day?" Gwen asked, averting her eyes and looking down.

Lyssa frowned, "Well, I was going to take you with me... my school's pretty lax about visitors... but if you don't want to come --"

"No!" Gwen assured quickly, still not quite meeting her eyes. "I do."

It was cold when they finally left the house for the twenty minute walk to Lyssa's school and Lyssa sighed to calm herself; this was her first day back since the museum.

"Are you feeling nervous?" Gwen asked.

"How could you tell?"

Gwen smiled slightly, "At home, I can always tell if my Lady's feeling nervous."

And this sparked a mountain of questions inside Lyssa's mind. What actually came out was, "Your Lady?"

Gwen nodded, still smiling, "Yes, I'm the Lady Morgana's maidservant."

Lyssa actually stopped in her tracks, "What?"

Gwen stopped too, "I'm the Lady Morgana's maidservant?"

"You're not Queen?"

Gwen stared at her, "Of course not! Where did you get a silly idea like that?! King Uther has no Queen. She died in childbirth."

Lyssa stared this time, "King _who_?"

"Uther. King Uther." Gwen repeated.

"Not- not Arthur?"

Gwen was still staring at her, "Prince Arthur's not King yet."

"Oh. But- but I thought --" Lyssa sighed in frustration, "In our version of history, you were Arthur's Queen. And you had an affair with Lancelot and, well my friend Jenny really didn't like you but I'd never read the book and so --"

"I was Queen?" Gwen squeaked and then something dawned on her face. "I had an affair with _Lancelot_?!"

Lyssa bit her lip, "That's what our legends say."

"Legends? This is the future isn't it?"

And Lyssa laughed, because it so, totally was.

* * *

First period seemed to fly by. Barely had Lyssa opened her Chemistry textbook when the bell had rang for second period. Of course, if you're dreading something, time always seems to speed up.

She took her usual seat at the front of the classroom where she usually sat with Jenny and sighed heavily. Brittany, she noted, was not in class and she felt a small curling of guilt in her stomach.

As she stood up when the bell rang yet again, Lyssa hesitated, lingering around her desk. Eventually she caught the attention of Mr Sloan. He looked very tired and she could have sworn the last time she saw him, he didn't have as many worry lines. "Alyssa?" he said curiously and it made sense; since when did Lyssa, apathetic student extraordinaire ever willingly stay after class? And then comprehension dawned on his face.

"I read some of her notebook." Lyssa started awkwardly, "And I don't understand some of it."

He waited for her to continue patiently.

"I need you to tell me about Arthurian legend," Lyssa blurted out. "Jenny - there are references everywhere and it's really difficult when the only knowledge I'm going on is that Arthur was king."

She saw him hesitate and then he sighed, shuffling through the top drawer in his desk. "Here," he said, handing her a battered book. It was _The Once and Future King_ by T.H. White. "It's my own copy so be careful and if you have any questions..." He trailed off.

Lyssa nodded determinedly and held the book tightly in her hands, "Thank you."

* * *

Gwen felt a little bit out of her element. Okay, so she was in the future. Something about this wasn't completely surprising. She'd had a hunch since the beginning. There was some clenching feeling in her stomach constantly out of nervousness and worry but Alyssa ("Lyssa. Call me Lyssa," she'd said and Gwen reminded herself) was very nice and was doing her best, she thought, at helping her, finding her a way home.

Lyssa's school was small, barely four corridors pasted together in a box-like formation. It didn't compare to the castle at all and Gwen sighed in a strange type of disappointment and relief. It was so weird, more like a dream than reality. There were people her age congregated in one place to learn. She was lucky she could read and write competently - it was more than could be said for most of the servants in Camelot.

She was sitting in what Lyssa referred to as a Cafeteria. It was mostly empty with several long tables made out of a rough material that wasn't wood or metal and chairs that were haphazardly everywhere. It was dimly lit with what Gwen now knew as lamps that hung from the ceiling.

Everything was still weird, very weird. She sighed and went back to looking at the beige of the table. Lyssa seemed surprised, at first, that Gwen took everything from this time in stride, especially when she had first collected her from the hospital.

Lyssa's mother had signed the paperwork. She, so very thankfully, had a few minutes with Gwen before while her mum was signing whatever needed to be signed. "Hey," Lyssa said, looking uncharacteristically nervous. She was wringing her hands.

"Hi." Gwen had answered her.

"How are you?"

Shrugging and swallowing, on the verge of tears, Gwen had answered, "As well as can be expected."

Lyssa sighed. "You must be scared."

Laughing a little, she looked down, "Yeah," she admitted. "It's very ... different."

"I can imagine."

But she couldn't. Not really.

She was still tracing abstract patterns on the table top when she heard a chair scrape out opposite her. Gwen looked up. There was a very pretty girl sitting there, her red hair tumbling over her shoulder, her brown eyes rimmed with black. "Um--"

The girl took a deep breath, "My name's Brittany," she said. "I was Adrianna's friend."

Gwen very vaguely knew who Adrianna was. She and Lyssa's best friend Jenny were the ones who'd come through the Mirror from this side, most likely to her home Camelot. Gwen struggled, "I'm-I'm Gwen." And then, in horror, remembering that she was supposed to have amnesia, she backtracked, "I mean -- that's what Lyssa calls me, at least, because I don't remember anything." And then she winced; she sounded like a complete moron.

"I know," Brittany answered, peering at her suspiciously. "Mr Sloan mentioned that." She paused. "... I don't believe you."

Gwen gawked, "What, why?!" She knew she sounded desperate and had just given herself away, "I'm not lying!" she said, making it worse.  
Brittany raised her eyebrows, "Look, I've done enough lying myself to know when someone else is." Then she rolled her eyes, "Besides, you're really bad at it."

Gwen could only helplessly wonder how she managed to fool the doctors at the hospital if she couldn't even fool a teenage girl.

Then the bell rang and Gwen startled and Brittany said, "Who are you really?" as the door of the cafeteria opened.

"Hey, you!" Gwen whipped around to find a very angry Lyssa stalking toward them, clutching a book. "Quit terrorizing people and go find some hole to crawl into," she said viciously, now beside Gwen, glaring daggers at Brittany.

Brittany sneered back, "Shut up, Alyssa. I'm just talking."

"Well the go talk to someone else!"

"Why don't you --"

"Please!" said Gwen, wide-eyed and a little scared.

Lyssa, still glaring, dropped into the chair beside Gwen and nodded slightly. "So," she started, the annoyance definitely prevalent in her voice, "What were you talking about?"

"I know she hasn't lost her memory," Brittany said defiantly.

Gwen winced slightly at the look Lyssa gave her. "You _told_ her?!"

"Not exactly," Gwen answered, slowly becoming aware that the cafeteria was filling up around them as people came from their classes.

"I guessed," Brittany explained stiffly.

"Oh, I suppose you just pulled it out of thin air, _Lyssa and Gwen must be hiding something, oh, I know she hasn't really lost her memory!_"

Brittany looked disgusted. "Don't be so dramatic. It doesn't add up. What, Addie and Jeanette disappear in the same room as you and apparently you don't remember anything and then you find a girl who has no memory? What kind of stupid logic is that?!"

Gwen sighed and saw Lyssa purse her lips. "The doctors believed it..." she defended quietly.

"Yes, well the doctors are idiots and clearly didn't know Adrianna and Jeanette at all."

"Obviously." Lyssa agreed sullenly.

"So, who are you really?" Brittany repeated, "And why are you lying?"

Lyssa and Gwen glanced at each other. Gwen was chewing on her bottom lip; Lyssa was easy to read, like Morgana. You could usually tell what they were thinking, if you knew what to look for. Right now, Gwen knew that Lyssa was going to tell her.

"How adverse are you to magic?"

Brittany's eyes narrowed. "Go on," she commanded.

"You know that Mirror? The one they said they found shattered? Well, this is what I do remember. Adrianna was apologising and Jenny tripped. They crashed into the Mirror."

"Yeah and...?"

"And then they were gone." Lyssa cleared her throat nervously, "And Guinevere was in the middle of the Mirror frame."

For several long moments there was a very tense atmosphere. Gwen distinctly remembered the turn of phrase, _you could cut the tension with a knife_, except it seemed that she wouldn't need a knife so much as an axe.

"You're telling me that this is Queen Guinevere from the legend? All right, you know what? I'm sorry I ever said that to Jenny, so you can stop torturing me!" Brittany said furiously.

Gwen heard Lyssa sigh, "And if I was being a hundred percent serious?"

"I --" Brittany sighed, "Time travel's impossible, isn't it? You're the science nerd, you tell me."

"It should be." Lyssa explained. "Laws of Physics say it is. But no one said anything about the Laws of Magic, did they? When I asked Gwen where she was from she answered Camelot without prompting."

Brittany seemed to be struggling with something. "And you're convinced?"

Lyssa nodded.

* * *

Brittany didn't really believe in magic but her sense of logic won over in the end. It was always more simple for the answer to be one thing and not several. So it was either time travel or a kidnapping and two cases of amnesia. She decided to go with time travel.

"Gwen?"

The girl looked up, not quite meeting her eyes. For some reason, she didn't strike Brittany as very Queenly.

"So, you're from Camelot?"

"Yes," she answered awkwardly. "But I'm not Queen."

Brittany, taken aback said, "Then what are you?"

"I'm Lady Morgana's maidservant."

Lyssa sighed, rubbing at her temples and Brittany couldn't help it - she started laughing. "Well," she said when she'd marginally calmed herself. "Jenny will be happy, won't she?"

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

"Well," Brittany said a little cruelly and she could feel Lyssa's heated glare on her, "Jenny, she loves Arthurian legend but she's always hated you."

This didn't draw any surprised faces from Gwen so she assumed Lyssa must have mentioned as such and continued, "Basically, she's half in love with Arthur and you hurt him by having an affair with Lancelot so she thinks that she could have done it better, in your place. It's a bit funny, that she gets the chance to try."

"I thought you said you were sorry," Lyssa ground out, her voice angry.

"Well, I'm sorry that the comment brought on this situation." Brittany amended.

There was silence and Brittany felt the need to break it. "Do you think they're all right?" she asked and her voice may have come out a little more unstably than intended.

Gwen sighed, pursing her lips and wringing her hands, "I don't know. If it follows what happened to me, then they would have ended up in Morgana's chambers... and magic's forbidden. If the guards found out..."

"And-and would Morgana tell anyone?" Lyssa asked, looking as concerned as Brittany felt.

Gwen looked down, "I'm not sure. She helped a druid boy, Mordred, but if she felt threatened... Do you think Adrianna and Jenny would convince her they weren't threats?"

Brittany blinked. "Well, Addie's screwed." she tried to joke, a weight settling in her stomach.

"Jenny too," Lyssa said and Brittany felt, for the first time, a strange connection with the girl. She wrinkled her nose in mortification.

"So," Gwen said, swallowing, "How are we going to fix this?"

"I don't know," Lyssa answered. "All I have to go on for Arthurian legend is this," she produced a battered copy of _The Once and Future King_ and Jeanette's beat-up blue notebook. "And you, of course," she added to Gwen.

Brittany sighed, "We should think about the Mirror. Magic Mirror's aren't exactly my forte, the only one I've ever seen was in Snow White, but I really think it has something to do with this."

"Of course it does!" Lyssa said scathingly and Brittany fixed her with a glare. "But yes," Lyssa sighed, after a moment. "I suppose we should be thinking about that."

* * *

Lyssa's fourth period of the day was Physics. It was the only subject Lyssa truly liked, though she'd never admit it. She took her seat at the very back of the class and pulled out her binder and Jenny's notebook. She looked at it and sighed as the classroom buzzed with noise, waiting for Mr Jay to actually come to class. He was forever late.

Instead of reading it, Lyssa just flipped through it, running her fingers over the creases Jenny had made with her purple pen. Then she found something. It was jagged and sharp and shiny. It was a mirror fragment, stuck between two pages near the end. Very carefully and without cutting herself, Lyssa slipped it into her pocket, feeling nervous and giddy about this.

"All right, all right, quiet down." Mr Jay had apparently arrived and Lyssa looked up. "Today, as you all know or should know had you actually been looking at your course calendar, is the beginning of a new unit. Light. Some of you, and you know who you are, didn't do very well on that last Electromagnetism test so here's your chance to make up for it."

Finding it hard to pay attention, Lyssa stuffed the notebook away and scribbled down what he was writing on the board.

"Some of the major things that we'll be learning about regarding light are reflection, refraction, dispersion, diffraction, and, my personal favourite, Wave-particle duality. It gets a little hard to follow so do your homework because I don't want any of you writing on the test, _Light is how we see_, because technically, while it may be true, it's not what I'm looking for."

When the bell rang, Lyssa groped into her pocket, pulling out the shard of mirror. The light was reflected right off it and she could see herself. If this was the same Mirror that Jenny and Adrianna fell into, then it held magic. She just wished the answer to the problem was reflected in the mirror as well.

* * *

_A Note on the Title:_

Um, it probably seems pretty obscure. I'll give you the definition and see if you can work out how it relates to the chapter.

Ockham's Razor (or Occam's Razor): is the principle that "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity" and the conclusion thereof, that the simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one and "If a thing can be done adequately by means of one, it is superfluous to do it by means of several; for we observe that nature does not employ two instruments where one suffices." (according to Wikipedia). As usual, hope you enjoyed and review!


	7. Stained Glass

_Author's Note:_

Aaaaaand here's chapter seven! On Saturday, just like I promised (a little late on Saturday but it's still Saturday!). This chapter also marks the ending of my pre-written chapters. And I go back to school in a week so the time between updates might get a little longer. I just wanted to let you know. And as usual, the regular warnings apply...

_Warnings: _AU after Season One Episode Nine, Spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White  
_Disclaimer:_ I don't own anything you recognize as belonging to the show Merlin. I do own this story, Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, Brittany, and any other original character you come across.

And, before beginning the chapter, I'd like to thank **Wren Hightower** for being an amazing beta and putting up with my whining about this chapter and looking at the five different drafts of it... Also, thank-you to **GoldenAura**, **SmithsonianGirl**, and **Setari** for reviewing the last chapter. Reviews equal heart!

So, yeah. Read, review, and enjoy!

**

* * *

**

**-- Chapter Seven: Stained Glass --**

Arthur's day _did not_ start out completely, totally, perfectly normal. Not even in the slightest. This was mostly due to the fact that he was greeted_ not_ by his regular manservant (who was going to _die_ when Arthur was through with him) but with a face full of porridge that morning.

* * *

The kitchens were noisy and busy and, if I was honest with myself, a little bit scary. There were people everywhere and it really didn't look organized. Servants were bustling in and out, carrying plates and meals and the kitchen staff snapped at anyone who even looked like they didn't know what they were doing.

The sad thing was, I didn't know what I was doing. I sent a silent plea to anyone who was listening that I wouldn't end up here ever again. Adrianna, on the other hand, looked like she would love to spend the rest of her life here.

I hated her just a little bit at that moment.

That morning, Merlin decided that I should be the one to bring his - Arthur's - breakfast to him. I think this was because he felt sorry for me and it left an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I would never, ever tell them that I'd overheard their conversation. It made me feel something akin to shame. My hands were shaking from nervousness and something else I didn't want to think about.

Merlin behind us gave Adrianna and me a little encouraging push on the back. I stumbled forward, useless, and Adrianna gave me a look that suggested loathing. I felt small and I didn't like it. Huffing, she stepped forward and I tried to pay attention to how she got the meal, I swear I did, but there was a crash to the left of me. Some servant had dropped a plate with a clanging sound of metal and porridge was sent flying in every direction.

"Ew." Adrianna said with that face. Suddenly she was carrying a tray of food and I gaped. How had that happened so fast?

"So I just take this to Morgana's rooms, right?" She whispered to Merlin kind of frantically.

"Yes."

She hesitated and I was a little shocked. Adrianna wasn't the type to hesitate. She usually just rushed in head first and dealt with the consequences. She shifted her weight and pursed her lips. Finally, she sighed, "Come with me?"

Merlin glanced at me and I looked to Adrianna. She looked uncertain and it bothered me a bit - I didn't like that she was uncertain. "Yeah, go. Go with her." I said weakly. "I'll be okay."

He nodded and smiled blindingly at me. I sighed and turned back. It was my turn in line and I really hoped I'd get this right.

* * *

I smiled down at the tray in my hands, feeling happy. That wasn't that hard, I thought, maybe if I did end up in the kitchens it wouldn't be too bad… after all, Merlin couldn't keep passing his job off on me… In hindsight, though, it probably should have been painfully obvious that I didn't get it right. Because what kind of Prince is served porridge?  
I hesitated, like Adrianna, at the front of Prince Arthur's door. Then, I sucked in a deep breath. I could do this because I was Jenny Styles and I was a history nerd and it didn't matter to me if King - or Prince - Arthur was a jerk. I repeated these words in my head and so I knocked.  
"Enter!" came his voice from the other side of the heavy wood.

Swallowing thickly, I pushed hard on the door. It swung open slowly.

Prince Arthur wasn't facing me.

"Congratulations, Merlin. You've finally learned how to knock –"

And then he was facing me.

Determined, I started forward. But before I could even say anything, my foot caught on something on the floor (later I learned that this was the goblet that apparently _no one_ had picked up after I'd knocked it over the day previous) and I was sent forward, the entire tray of food flying out of my hands.

I gasped, the wind knocked out of me as I hit the floor. When I dared look up from where I was sprawled I was greeted with the face of a Prince who was dripping in disgusting, grey porridge.

* * *

There was a small pause where I just gaped in horror. _What. had. I. done? _So I just started talking and my speech impediment kicked in, "I'm sorry, My Lord. I tripped and - I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear!" I could feel myself tearing up. I had just freaking dumped porridge - _porridge_ - on Prince Arthur. _Arthur!_

Arthur did not look impressed. He looked like he honestly didn't know what he should do and I felt the stupid laughter come on. You know the type where you're really not sure why you're laughing and it's completely inappropriate but you just can't help it? The kind of laugh where, for no reason comprehensible, you start in the middle of a church service or during science class when you're watching the safety video.

So, in the silence, I heard a hysterical giggle escape me. And then I was full out laughing and I couldn't stop. Still sitting on the floor, I actually had to grab my sides to attempt to stop the stitch from forming there. I couldn't tell if the tears that were streaming down my cheeks were from fear or from laughing so hard.

Probably, he was wondering if I was sane. I was wondering that myself, actually, because I really couldn't seem to stop. Everything was screaming, 'Jenny, stop laughing at the Prince of Camelot', except for that I couldn't. And it really wasn't my fault. I promise you, I'm not lying.

It wasn't helped by the expression on his face, either, which was something between disbelief and annoyance. If anything, it made me laugh harder.

He lifted his hand and wiped a glob of porridge off his face and then he was laughing too. It was an amazing sound and I felt my heart clench a little. This sobered me up and I stopped laughing quickly. He stopped too, eyeing me warily.

Could this _get_ any worse?

There was an awkward moment of silence and I picked myself up off the floor, avoiding looking at him.

"Why did you bring me porridge?"

Of all the things he might have said, I wasn't expecting this. And I had completely realized my mistake. Never in my life had I felt more incompetent than at that moment. "Um," I cleared my throat, tears still threatening to spill, still out of breath from laughing insanely, "I'm an idiot and I took the wrong tray?" It came out like a question.

He was trying to get it off, wiping it away from his eyes with a disgusted expression on his face, towing his hand through his blond hair and coming away with fingers full of it.

Without knowing exactly why, I stepped forward, "Here," I said and dug through my apron for the cloth I'd put there this morning. It was soft in my hands as I lifted it to his face.

He sighed heavily, "No, no, stop, it's all right." he said, stepping back. At the same time, I froze, my hand still raised.

It could, apparently, get worse; it was official - I was an idiot.

There was another uncomfortable moment. I stood there, trying to superimpose the image of My Arthur, the Arthur I knew from legend, the Arthur I loved, onto the Arthur standing in front of me, Arthur Prince of Camelot, the Arthur covered in gloop. It was very hard but I thought that maybe if I squinted and tilted my head a bit –

He cleared his throat loudly and I stepped away hurriedly, feeling my face flush unpleasantly, realizing I was staring. He opened his mouth, probably to ask where Merlin was, I thought, wincing. Before he could say anything, I inclined my head, bit my lip, and all but ran out of the room. I was nothing like a proper servant.

* * *

Arthur stared after her for a moment. _What _had just happened? Because he really wasn't sure. Then he felt a glob of porridge make its way down the side of his face. Ew. That was just gross. Did people actually _eat _this?! Using his hand, he wiped it off.

He was definitely, totally going to murder Merlin.

* * *

Adrianna tried to force everything to stay in her brain, she did, really. But there was just _so much_ to learn. Merlin had shown her how to make a bed and how to dust and a million other things that, if she was told three days ago she'd be doing for a living, she would have died laughing.

Now, she was picking out Morgana's clothes for the day. And she was rather jealous because her dresses were _to die for_. But, she reflected rather sadly, she had no idea what to pick. And, even if Merlin was still there to help her, she doubted that he would have actually been helpful in this situation.

"Do you need any help, Adrianna?" Morgana asked, with a knowing expression on her face.

Forcing a smile that turned out more like a grimace, Adrianna shook her head and pulled out the first dress that didn't look overly fancy. "Um, here?"

Morgana took the dress, which was a deep green, and disappeared behind a screen. Adrianna twiddled her fingers and hoped she didn't need any help.

"Adrianna? Could you tie the back?" Morgana's voice came from the other side of the screen.

Silently cursing, Adrianna sighed and went around. Thankfully, this was something she knew how to do. Even the laces on the back of the dress were pretty, Adrianna thought enviously as she tightened it.

She sighed as she stepped back when she was finished. Morgana turned around and actually smiled at her. It was a tentative smile, one that definitely didn't imply friendship, but it was a start, Adrianna thought a little grudgingly.

"You can go help down in the kitchens now, Adrianna." Morgana said and it was a clear dismissal.

Inclining her head like a proper servant, Adrianna left.

She almost felt sorry for Jenny now, she thought, relieved. If she'd once intimidated Jenny the way Morgana was intimidating... she shuddered slightly.

The hallways were becoming more familiar to her and she was glad because she definitely didn't want a repeat of her first time cleaning. Adrianna winced at the memory. She passed other servants and remembered to keep her head down, just in case. Because getting caught would be all she'd need.

Unfortunately, that meant that she wasn't exactly watching where she was going. She realized this when she bumped into something quite solid and moving quite quickly. There was enough force behind it that she stumbled back, lost her balance, and fell onto her backside with a huff that she'd later deny coming out of her mouth.

She looked up to see that it wasn't, in fact, a moving wall she'd bumped into but a man... who was covered in porridge? She paused, staring for a minute. Ew. He helped her up roughly and apologised with a "Sorry," before taking off again, muttering about "... women who keep falling down..."

Staring for a moment, Adrianna shook herself and continued on her way to the kitchens.

* * *

The kitchens had a rhythm that was easy to fall into. Everyone was assigned one job and you stuck to it. Adrianna was on dishes. She thought it was rather disgusting, really, but it was better than cleaning the floors, which looked like the most disgusting job she had ever seen. Mostly because a lot of things were dropped. A lot of food was dropped. Adrianna didn't like thinking about it.

But, the problem with the relative simplicity of dishes was that it gave Adrianna a lot of room to think. She'd been thinking a lot, lately, about home. She really didn't want to be here and that wasn't the only problem. She was worried about her mother and Brittany and everyone else at school. And it didn't help that, for someone who apparently preached about selflessness, Jenny was turning out to be exceedingly selfish. Had she given any thought to her mother or father or even Lyssa at all? It really made Adrianna wonder because Jenny, it seemed to her, was more concerned about fitting in here than finding a way home.

Not that Adrianna thought that she was a saint herself. She'd done her fair share of nasty things, been jealous, and she'd certainly been selfish but... she sighed.

A voice broke her from her thoughts, "Adrianna, right?"

She looked up, pushing her fringe out of her eyes, "Yeah," she answered hesitantly. A boy with straw coloured hair and heavy freckles was standing in front of her.

"I have, um..." He stuttered (and wasn't that typical? Adrianna thought, because boys couldn't see a pretty girl without stuttering, apparently...) and Adrianna looked down. He was carrying what looked to be a heavy armful of bowls and plates.

She winced, "Put them there."

He set them down with the sound of metal clinking together.

She winced again and when she turned her green eyes toward the ground, there was at least half the stack on the floor, the loud crash echoing. Everyone stopped for a minute to stare at them and Adrianna's face burned.

Then she looked at the remaining stack of plates.

And she hated her life.

* * *

Okay, so I am a complete idiot. That's really all I had to say, which I think may be the problem. There seemed to be nothing going on in my head most of the time. _Why, WHY had I tripped? _WHY HAD I STARTED LAUGHING?! And why I had tried to fix it? Fixing it never worked, as Lyssa continuously told me.

After all but running out of the room and embarrassing myself further, I wandered the halls, making sure to flatten my hair every few minutes. I found my feet automatically taking me back toward Gaius' quarters.

I was about to push the heavy door open when I heard footsteps behind me. Instinctively, without really knowing why, I dove behind a pillar. They walked by heavily and I discovered that Arthur had apparently not changed out of his porridge clothing. My face burned with shame.

He knocked rapidly, urgently on the door.

Peeking out, I could see that Merlin answered, holding a very heavy looking book in his hands.

"—she dumped porridge on me!"

I winced. His voice had gotten progressively louder as the sentence went on.

"I was –"

"Maybe if you actually did your job for once –"

"I was –"

"You know, some people would find it a privilege, _Mer_lin, to work for me –"

"I was –"

"But you--!"

"I was helping Morgana's new maid!" Merlin blurted out before Arthur could cut him off again.

I sighed; at least he didn't have to lie.

"And yesterday? Because I seem to remember finding Jenny—" _he remembered my name, _I thought, squeezing my eyes shut hard, "—in my chambers cleaning then, too." Arthur challenged. "And I wasn't aware it was your job to help _Morgana's_ new maid."

Merlin gave him a look that clearly said, _you are an idiot._ "Ever since Gwen –"

Arthur sighed, cutting him off again and I got the distinct impression that Merlin was just a little bit annoyed, "Fine," Arthur ground out, frustrated. "Unless you find yourself missing the stocks, Merlin, don't let it happen again. I expect you in my chambers in two minutes and I swear, if you're late, you're going to wish they were throwing potatoes."

Then he turned on his heel (I couldn't quite squash the word dramatic out of my brain) and left. In the midst of me praying that he was half blind so he wouldn't see me, he walked right by without a second glance. I let myself breathe again.

Then –

"Jenny?"

Turning around I found myself face to face with Merlin. He was staring at me with his blue eyes and suddenly I didn't think my hiding place was so good after all. "Hi?"

"Did you seriously dump porridge on him?"

Vowing never to eavesdrop again, accidently or not, I burst into very noisy tears.

* * *

It was a little while later when I became worried about Adrianna and gotten Merlin to go look for her that I found myself alone with Gaius for the second time. The atmosphere was a little different, though. It was very curious, like a puzzle that needed to be solved, like a bit of a thought experiment.

So, for some reason (I think it was my lack of a notebook, which I was missing sorely and I thought it was a little unfair because I wanted it and I didn't have it...) I found myself talking about nothing and everything and nothing all at once. Gaius didn't contribute but he didn't complain, either so I just kept speaking. Somehow, a little inevitably, the one-sided conversation turned to Prince Arthur.

"— I mean, he's not even supposed to be a Prince. He's_ supposed_ to grow up humble, in the care of Sir Ector and Kay. _What_ happened to the Sword in the Stone? But I suppose if you take Merlin out of the equation... But I don't understand. How can he hate magic, anyway? It was supposed to be so influential..." I pursed my lips and sighed.

Gaius set his quill down and peered at me in a seeing way, "You really are from the future, aren't you?"

I nodded, "Yeah," I said, smiling stupidly, hating... something. I hated something. I just wasn't sure what.

"And Merlin -?"

I understood immediately but the response bubbled automatically to the surface before I could stop it, "As far as I'm concerned, he shouldn't have to ask about his future."

Gaius paused for a moment, "The boy has no Sight in him."

"In our stories, in our legends, he does." I stopped and pushed my blonde hair out of my face roughly, scratching at the scab forming on my cheek. I'm not claiming to be an expert on people because I was most definitely not seeing as most of the time I didn't even understand myself, didn't understand my family, I didn't even understand Lyssa but Gaius seemed concerned to me. I wasn't sure what to tell him, I wasn't sure if anything I had to say was relevant anymore, and I wasn't sure if anything I could say would potentially change their future. Would Adrianna and I being here change everything? Or was it always meant to be like this?

I wasn't sure.

I sighed slightly, "He does well. Merlin is the greatest warlock to ever walk the earth, not that my time even believes in magic." I said, trying to help. I was trying. "He will be remembered."

Then there was silence and I wasn't babbling anymore. I didn't know that reassuring someone could ever help me feel better; usually I was the one being reassured. Lyssa usually did that... I frowned, realizing for the first time that I really missed her.

Thinking of Lyssa seemed to set off a bomb of unexpected thoughts in my head. My parents too, I hadn't thought of until then. And I wish I hadn't either because it made me feel guilty. My parents were not bad parents, far from it. I just didn't relate. I didn't relate to anyone, for some reason, not even Lyssa.

Even though I was so completely lost, such a complete idiot, I still felt like this was where I was where I was where I was supposed to be. Because, for the first time, I did feel like I was connecting to people. And I really liked that feeling.

Gaius broke the silence again, "Is it like you expected?"

I started laughing, actually laughing, and I felt better. I remembered Lyssa saying something about laughter and endorphins. "No." I answered finally, smiling. "Not at all. It's like going to do a puzzle you thought you had all figured out, with square pieces, and getting there only to realize you know nothing because all of the pieces are round and nothing fits."

The door opened then and Merlin came in, a smile on his face. Then I saw Adrianna and I felt a smile tug on my lips too. She was covered head to toe in soppy water.

"Um," I said, "Did you enjoy your bath?"

She glared daggers at me, "Jenny, I swear on all that's holy –"

"Come on," I said, reaching for her hand. "You clearly need to change."

In Merlin's room, with the door closed, I helped Adrianna struggle out of her soaked maid's dress. "What did you do?" I asked as I pulled a piece of food out of her curly hair.

She winced, "Morgana sent me to the kitchens and they stuck me on dishes."

I laughed but stopped quickly when I saw the look Adrianna was giving me.

"I hope I don't end up there." I said truthfully.

"Yes," Adrianna agreed with a tone to her words. "Heaven forbid." Then she sighed, shivering, "_What_ am I supposed to wear now?"

* * *

Adrianna ended up in her jeans and Jenny's sweater, the cleanest of the clothes they had, and they set her one dress aside to dry.

"You had a hard day then, I guess," Jenny said as she opened the door.

Adrianna was still wringing water out of her hair from when she rinsed it, "I hear you dumped porridge on Prince Arthur." She retorted.

Jenny's face coloured, "I tripped! It was an accident!"

"Sorry," Merlin said to her, smiling and shutting the door of his room again, "It was just too funny to pass up telling, Jenny."

She glared at him but Adrianna could see that she wasn't angry.

"So," Adrianna started, "today was a disaster," she said, taking as seat on his bed.

"No kidding," Jenny said in agreement.

Merlin was watching them, and he sighed, "It's been three days."

"I'm glad you know how to count," Adrianna said sarcastically.

There was a half-hearted glare in there somewhere, "I mean Gwen's been in your time for three days now. Is she going to be all right?"

Adrianna pursed her lips, thinking. She hadn't given too much thought to Gwen; she just knew she wanted to go home and assumed that whenever they figured out how to do that, the situation would rectify itself.

"Well, if that's what happened," Jenny said slowly, "she would have ended up in the museum, wouldn't she have?"

Adrianna wasn't convinced, "We didn't end up in front of the Mirror here, though, did we?"

Jenny opened her mouth to say something but then closed it, reconsidering.

"So she could be anywhere?" Merlin asked, looking worried, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

For some reason, Adrianna noticed that they were sitting in triangular formation. She stared at the floor because the look on Merlin's face was making her uncomfortable. "I suppose," She answered. "But she might've ended up in the museum. If she did, Alyssa was there, wasn't she?"

Jenny nodded eagerly, "Yeah! She was. She would have taken care of Guinevere. Lyssa's really kind." Jenny looked a little sad now and Adrianna couldn't tell what she was thinking.

There was a silence.

"She'll be okay," Adrianna said which seemed to close the conversation.

"So... should we try to find the Mirror?" Jenny asked.

"Probably," Adrianna jumped in, "I mean, have you found anything?" she asked, turning to Merlin.

"Not anything that was helpful," he admitted, "Gaius' books don't really cover time travel. I've looked in the library too but there's nothing on magic in there."

"Of course not." Jenny said, "Well where could the Mirror be, then?"

Merlin shrugged, "It could be anywhere, right? Do you know what the Mirror looks like?" he asked.

"I do," Jenny said. "It was beautiful, the most elaborate thing I've ever seen."

Adrianna sighed, feeling left out of the conversation, "I wasn't paying attention to the Mirror."

"Can you draw it?" Merlin said suddenly. "We won't be of any help if we don't know what it looks like."

Jenny blushed a little, "Um, my stick figures are bad. Like, really bad."

So, basically, they were screwed. Lovely.

"So now what?" she found herself asking. "We can't exactly go around testing every mirror we find!"

"Do we even know it's the same Mirror?" Merlin asked. "For all we know it could be any mirror. Maybe it doesn't even look the same."

Adrianna pursed her lips. "So we have nothing."

"Yep."

Adrianna thought that that was really rather unfortunate.

* * *

_Notes on the Titles:_

So, I totally realized I didn't explain the title for Chapter Five: An All-Round Mirror. It comes from this quote here:

I mean one of the things about being alone is that you've no people to define yourself off, I mean, people are like all-round mirrors, because let's face it, we don't often see ourselves all round in a mirror anyway, do we? -- Diana Wynne Jones

And for this chapter, it came from Stained Glass being a lot like a puzzle that you could put together.

Have you found a pattern in the chapter titles, yet?


	8. Time Locked

_Author's Note:_

Um, Hi. It's been two weeks since my last update, which is twice as long as it normally takes me. However, this chapter is twice as long as my usual chapters. Also, I just started school again last week. It's trying but I promise that this story will eventually be finished. It just might take me a bit longer, cuz, well, Chemistry's hard and takes up a lot of my time, lol. Anyway, I think I should warn you that this is an Adrianna-heavy chapter and she has a bit of a turning point so yeah. I hope you like it!

_Warnings:_ AU after Series One Episode 9, Spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White, and Spoilers for parts of the legend.  
_Disclaimer: _I do not own Merlin or anything associated with it. I do own this story, Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, Brittany, and any other original character that makes an appearance.

Also, thank-you to **EllieBaby**, **Setari**, **Wren Hightower**, and **GoldenAura** for reviewing. They encourage me :D And, thanks to my beta, Wren Hightower, for doing a last minute editing so that I could post this tonight. And for listening to me whine about just about everything that didn't want to work for me, lol.

All right-y, then! So, please read, review, and enjoy! (Notes on the title at the bottom)

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**-- Chapter Eight: Time Locked --**

Adrianna's day _did not_ start out completely, totally, perfectly normal. Nope. Not at all. One reason for this was because her day started at three in the morning. _Three._ Before arriving in Camelot, she was scarcely aware that the day started before seven. _Three!_ The other reason, she reflected later, when she could properly think again, was a whole lot more terrifying.

* * *

The next two weeks flew by in a blur of dishes and really, really gross water. Yes, dishes. In the kitchens, apparently, this was the station where they stuck the new servants because it's where I have stood for the last two weeks. And I discovered that Adrianna was definitely _not_ exaggerating when it came to how loathsome the job actually was.

How I ended up in the kitchens: I don't know.

One day, I just started coming here. And continued to come here. Because, really, there was nothing else to do. I mean, I could hardly have stayed in Gaius' quarters and waited for them to find me, could I? Not that anyone but Merlin knew Adrianna and I were staying there in the first place...

And King Uther was still in an uproar over the fact that we had escaped but Merlin thought that if we stayed invisible for long enough everything would blow over. I was a little unconvinced; Adrianna, who was still Lady Morgana's maid in the absence of Guinevere, held a pretty prominent title so far as servants were concerned and was already being noticed. Servants all over the castle knew her name and I couldn't even lie to myself; I was a little jealous. Because I was Jenny the Dish Girl.

She got to be a servant for Morgana. _Morgana!_ Morgan Le Fey had always been my favourite female from Arthurian legend, though I didn't much like T.H. White's version of her. She was interesting and even if she wasn't necessarily a good person, I enjoyed reading about her because her character was mostly believable and real.

That was the part that made me really envious. I wished I had her job because I knew I could do it well, if I could just get over my inherent ability to be a klutz.

Speaking of which...

I sighed heavily as I looked at the pile of cutlery that I'd just knocked over and knelt down on the disgusting floor to gather it back up. Because did it really matter when I trekked back home (home?) every night soaked to the skin?

"Need any help?" a voice asked.

I looked up to see George, a servant with sandy hair and freckles who frequently gave me armfuls of plates to wash.

"It's all right," I said, eyeing the dishes he'd just set down with dislike.

He knelt down anyway. "Jenny, you do know that you're completely hopeless, right?" he said, smiling, reminding me somehow of Merlin and Lyssa all rolled into one.

"I've been told occasionally," I responded, finding the will in me to smile.

* * *

The trek back to Gaius' quarters was uneventful. It was almost routine now, which was a bit of a relief because remembering the first couple times I tried to make my way back there on my own was not fun. Adrianna had to come and find me once. The castle was like a maze and, while I knew the basic structure of castles pretty well, it was a different experience entirely having to make your way through one.

How the fact that we were staying in Gaius' quarters had completely escaped everyone, I'm not sure. We weren't exactly subtle about it. Of course, we didn't go around telling everyone either, though. I pushed his door open.

Adrianna, back from serving Morgana already, looked up from where her nose was buried in a thick textbook. "Anything?" she asked automatically.

I sighed, "How could I possibly find anything doing dishes?" I asked back.

It was true. We were absolutely no closer to finding the Mirror and Adrianna was beginning to get desperate.

"Well," she turned to Gaius, who was doing his work, ignoring us as usual. "What do you think? What do you know about Magic Mirrors?"

He looked up with the Gaius Look, which I'd come to the conclusion no one liked. It was like having an X-Ray. He told us the same thing he'd repeated ten times by now, "They can be used for scrying and, evidently, time travel. It's my guess that a sorcerer placed a curse on the Mirror you two came through."

"But you think it's the same Mirror, then?" Adrianna said. "The same one in our time? Not, like, some random one?"

"Mhm," Gaius murmured his agreement, "It's likely that Gwen is where you came from too then, seeing as you ended up here, even if you weren't right in front of the Mirror," he said next, knowing this would be Adrianna's next question.

I think he indulged her because he knew how worried she was about getting home. I felt guilty for not being more worried, for letting Adrianna be the one to worry. I think she was angry at me for it. I lowered myself into the chair beside her and smiled a little at Gaius.

The door opened a moment later and I looked up.

Merlin was standing there, covered in tomatoes and rotten fruit. My mouth hung open slightly as he swung the doors shut. "Don't... say anything."

I could tell Adrianna was trying very hard not to smile, ducking her head further into the textbook.

"Were you – um," I started, "Were you in the stocks?"

Merlin glared at me half-heartedly, "Nope. Just enjoy the smell of rotten fruit."

Adrianna's laughter had broken through and she buried her head in her arms on the table to muffle the sound. It was punctured only by Gaius' laughter.

I paused, considering. "Could I try?"

Merlin's smile lit up his face and Adrianna laughed harder.

"What? I don't get it."

* * *

Adrianna sat bolt upright, breathing hard. Nightmares were becoming really frequent for her recently. It didn't help that she was sleeping on a hard floor beside Jenny (who she found out liked to cuddle in her sleep. That was one awkward experience she wouldn't like to repeat).

She was about to turn over and forget the dream when she heard the door swing shut. Paranoid, she glanced over at Merlin's bed. It was empty, the covers thrown haphazardly to the foot of the bed, bunched up. She was up immediately, careful to step over Jenny's body, breathing deeply; she was always tired lately, having to stand upwards from eight hours a day in the kitchens. Time had gotten away on them, it seemed.

Not even bothering with proper clothes, she carefully pulled the door open and watched Merlin walk across the room, watching Gaius warily. He tripped halfway across the room on a broom leaning against the table but somehow managed to keep himself upright. She waited until he was out the door until she left the bedroom.

Quickly she crossed the room, making her way to the door, freezing in her tracks when she heard Gaius mutter nonsense in his sleep. She breathed a sigh of relief when he rolled over and continued to sleep.

Adrianna kept her footsteps light so they didn't echo and she was sure Merlin didn't know she was there. The coolness of the castle halls made her shiver as they descended and kept descending. It got colder the further down they went and Adrianna thought it was a little funny how there wasn't anyone around. They were a bit lax on security, she thought.

When Merlin stopped walking, Adrianna did too, flattening herself against the wall. He was really un-sneaky, she thought. Anyone could have come along and seen that he was there. Then she thought it was a little ironic that he was attempting to be sneaky and she was being sneaky, watching him attempt to be sneaky. It was a strange thought pattern.

How would she explain herself if he saw her, anyway? After all, she was invading his privacy. She felt a small flittering of guilt make its way into her stomach – surely he'd be upset if he found out Adrianna had been following him when he clearly didn't want to be followed? She didn't want to upset him.

But she hadn't exactly felt guilty when she'd read Jenny's notebook and if that wasn't an invasion of privacy, Adrianna didn't know what was. Then again, she was probably a bit desensitised to seeing Jenny upset. And upsetting Merlin was a little bit like kicking a puppy.

Merlin stopped, leaning over the side of a staircase to look down. Adrianna could hear drunken laughter and suddenly she realized where they were headed. Were these the same guards who guarded the cells that night?

Her pulse racing a little faster, she watched Merlin mutter words she didn't understand under his breath. She was at an angle that made it able for her to watch his eyes momentarily spark gold. And her breath caught in her throat.

So _that_ was magic.

Adrianna watched him from the top of the stairs. She expected him to make a left but instead he lifted a torch from one of the wall brackets and quickly made his way down the staircase right in front of him.

Swallowing thickly, Adrianna waited until he was a decent distance away before following him, noticing that the guards there previously were absent. She wondered what he did to make them lumber off in the other direction.

She didn't trust herself to carry a source of light, and while she didn't feel overly safe descending the stairs in a blanket of darkness she thought Merlin might notice if she did otherwise. She stepped lightly, hating that the slap of her soles against the stone echoed and she held the wall for support. Following the stairs were paths of long tunnels that twisted and turned. She kept well behind Merlin.

She could make out voices as she neared the opening – one was definitely Merlin's and the other was deep, wise, and old. It chilled her skin and gave her goose bumps. Adrianna inched closer until she reached the bottom and folded herself against the wall.

"—What am I supposed to do?!" Merlin was asking, yelling, sounding a little bit desperate.

There was harsh and smooth laugh, "Young warlock, the answer is in plain sight."

"How can it be in plain sight?" Merlin argued, "We've searched the entire castle, practically."

Adrianna let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. They were discussing the Mirror, weren't they?

" – It seems you have company tonight –"

Adrianna wasn't breathing anymore, pressing so tightly against the wall that she could feel the rough rock scrape her back. Of course, it didn't make her transparent. And it didn't matter anyway.

"Girl, come out."

But Adrianna couldn't move and she was surprised Merlin wasn't looking for her. Slowly, she pushed herself into the opening of the cave. She stumbled out shivering, and her green eyes met Merlin's.

He sighed heavily, "Adrianna –"

That was all she heard because in the next moment her eyes caught sight of the Dragon and she was screaming and backing up into the wall, trying to get as far away from the _thing_ as possible because it was big and it was _not supposed to be real_.

She'd backed herself against the wall again – because it was a frikking _dragon_ for crying out loud! Merlin was in front of her, pulling her hands down because they had somehow found their way into tugging at her hair, saying, "Adrianna, it's okay. Adrianna!" like her name was supposed to get her to calm down.

The Dragon was laughing in a way that seemed mocking.

* * *

The walk back was a very quiet walk in the dark. He was disappointed in her, she could tell. For following him? For spying? She kept her head down, even though there wasn't anyone around. She didn't want to have to look at him.

Adrianna felt like she'd just smashed a puppy over the head with a frying pan.

But she was never one that could stand silence, especially when it was more like the silent treatment. A lot of the time, she'd bother people until they told her why they were angry at her – it drove Brittany up the wall.

"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice; while no one could call Adrianna a coward, she wasn't feeling overly confident at that moment, either.

"Why... did you follow me?" Merlin asked after a small pause.

Adrianna shrugged, "I was curious. I thought – I don't even know what I was thinking. I just wanted to know where you were going." She glanced at him but he wasn't looking at her. It bothered her somehow. "I'm sorry!" she said again, needing it to be all right. She couldn't bear it when people were angry at her.

"No you're not." Merlin said suddenly, stopping in his tracks and turning to her. Adrianna opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "You're not. Because you're never sorry, Adrianna. You weren't _really_ sorry when you read Jenny's diary thing-y and –"

"But I apologised!" Adrianna argued, "I am sorry. Please don't be angry –"

Merlin scoffed and resumed walking at a quicker pace. Adrianna had to jog to keep up. "You're sorry because you made me angry, then?" he asked.

"Yes. I mean, no! I'm sorry for following you."

Merlin slowed down again, nearing Gaius' quarters. He turned to Adrianna for a moment, opened his mouth to say something and quickly shut it again, changing his mind. He sighed as he pushed Gaius' door open.

Adrianna followed him hesitantly, keeping well behind him. She didn't think she'd ever felt so ashamed in her life. Also, she didn't even like what she'd found out. It made her stomach feel sick.

Merlin threw himself on the bed, turned away from where Jenny and Adrianna slept. She dropped to the floor and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. She didn't even bother to push Jenny away like normal as the girl automatically rolled closer to her.

How did her life end up like this?

* * *

Routinely, I awoke and squinted against the bright light. I hated mornings, I really did. When I looked around the room, I noticed that Merlin had already left, which was normal. I generally didn't start in the kitchens until midmorning. Adrianna was still laying there on the floor, though, fast asleep.

This wasn't good. I roughly shook her awake.

"Go away!" She snapped, drawing the blanket over her head.

"Adrianna, it must be like ten. You're late," I said.

Immediately, blurry eyed and with her curls extremely frizzy, she stumbled around and started pulling her clothes on. "Why did you let me sleep in?" she asked angrily, her voice still groggy.

"I just woke up too." I said, folding the blankets Adrianna and I used. "And since when do you sleep in?"

Adrianna scowled at me and I looked away.

She left in a hurry without breakfast. I sighed and dressed slowly, pulling my hair out of the hair tie I kept it in. It fell around my face and I sighed again.

Making my way down to the kitchens ten minutes later saw me over-thinking my situation with Adrianna. I didn't really understand why she was angry at me all the time. I knew she didn't like me, that had gone on far too long for me not to notice, but we were in this together, weren't we? We should have been sticking together and not dividing. Wasn't that the entire problem that the Orkney brothers had in _The Once and Future King_, anyway? If they hadn't been so argumentative with each other all the time, then they wouldn't all have ended up dead. If Mordred and Agravaine hadn't been so vengeful, Arthur would have never found out about the Lancelot-Guinevere affair and Gareth wouldn't have died standing between them. If they hadn't have chosen sides, Gawaine wouldn't have been left alone with Mordred and everything might have been okay.

If brothers couldn't even get along, no matter how close they professed to being, then what did that say for me and Adrianna?

My thoughts had gotten away on me a little and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Pushing through the door of the kitchens, I heard the tell-tale sound of metal hitting stone and froze. What had I just done?

I whipped around and my eyes widened. "Oh my God, are you okay?!" I asked desperately. A small, mousy servant girl with really long hair was on the ground in a sea of metal plates and holding her head. I knelt down to help her up, "Oh, I'm _so _sorry. I—"

"Jenny! _Jenny!_"

I winced. Tom was the head of the kitchens. Anything anyone did was passed through him first in order to make everything run smoothly. "I'm sorry!" I said automatically again.

"Those were clean plates!" he said in a very exasperated voice that bordered slightly on insanity. Tom was often like that – on the verge of a mental breakdown caused by stress. I got the feeling I was becoming a frequent contributor. "You – you!" I winced again; he looked very frustrated, like he wasn't sure what to do with me. I swallowed and started gathering the plates, helping the mousy girl.

"Don't!" Tom almost shrieked. I jumped and dropped the plates to the floor with another clanging sound. He took a very deep breath, "Jenny – you cannot be here right now. This isn't working."

My mouth fell open and tears clouded my vision; I was being fired from a job I wasn't even paid to do?!

"You – you," Tom stuttered again, looking around wildly, "George, get over here!"

George scurried over, inclining his head. "Yes?"

"You and Jenny are switching places. I cannot have this keep happening. Goodness knows you spend enough time having to help her anyway, you should just do the job."

I wasn't being fired?

George's mouth fell open and I sighed. "I'll get better! I swear—"

Tom shook his head, rubbing at his temples, trying to ease the constant headache he always complained about. "No. George, dishes, now. Jenny, you're our newest runner. Don't screw this one up."

Runner? I swallowed thickly and nodded. George glared at me.

I really wasn't popular today, I thought sadly.

And as for being a runner... I knew what a runner was, of course. They ran messages, delivered food to those who didn't have personal servants and filled in occasionally for those who did. They – and this was the part that frightened me just a little – served the King his dinner. I shuddered.

No! I thought a minute later. I could do this. And I wouldn't screw it up either. Because I was Jenny Styles and I could be the perfect servant.

"Is there a reason you're still standing there?" the servant – and I hazarded a guess at her name – May? – asked and I felt myself flush. "No reason!" I squeaked.

* * *

Sometime around three Adrianna came bursting into the kitchen. "Jenny, come help me."

I glanced at Tom for assurance – did runners do this? – and he nodded, shooing me away like he had more important business. Adrianna grabbed my hand and pulled me out. I only barely managed to save the plate of food I was carrying to another's room from making a terrible mess of my dress.

"Oh, thank God." Adrianna said when we were a little ways away. "I thought I'd never get out."

"What are you talking about?"I asked, trying to remember the way to Lady Heather's rooms. There was something about stairs...

"I need to talk to you." Something in the way she said it made me look at her. Adrianna was pale and her green eyes were wide.

"You look horrible," I said before I could stop myself. She, mercifully, ignored me.

"Jenny," and she was whispering now even though there wasn't anyone around, "Jenny, there's a dragon under the castle."

There was a heartbeat's pause.

And then I gasped really loudly when my brain finally caught up with what Adrianna had said. "You mean like Dinas Emrys?!" I asked excitedly and we made our way up the stairs as I explained. "In the legend, Vortigern, a warlord, fled to Wales trying to escape the Anglo-Saxon invasions. He tried to build a castle on a hillside but every morning when he returned it would always be back in a state of rubble. He tried sorcerers and wise men but all they could tell him was that if he took the blood of a child born without a father and sprinkled it at the sight the problem would disappear. The boy that they found was Myrddin Emrys or Merlin Ambrosius in Welsh. He was about eight in the legend but he told them their advice was rubbish when he was brought before Vortigern and that if they dug under the one wall they'd find two dragon eggs. So they did. The eggs hatched and the white dragon and the red dragon fought which was supposed to be a metaphor for – Anyway the castle was named Dinas Emrys and --"

Adrianna, who was staring at me, shook her head and interrupted, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh," I said, a little disappointed, "Then what's the big deal?" Adrianna pressed her lips into a thin line and looked at me disbelievingly. This had, apparently, not been the right answer.

"Adrianna!" a voice called, "I've been looking for you."

Adrianna looked resigned for a moment before composing herself, turning around, and dropping into a low curtsy. "Milady,"

Lady Morgana was standing in front of us and Adrianna pulled me down as well. It was a miracle I still hadn't dropped the rapidly cooling plate. Her eyes lingered on me and I lowered my gaze. I hadn't seen Morgana since the day she'd burst into Prince Arthur's chambers unannounced.

"Come," she said, "I need your help with something."

Adrianna nodded respectfully and didn't give me a second glance as she fell into Morgana's footsteps, slightly behind her.

I watched them walk away and, balancing the tray with one hand, I made sure my hair was flattened when my eyes widened. It was tucked behind my ears. Oh my God. _What if she'd seen?_

The cut was reduced to an ugly scar now, probably from a lack of stitches which Adrianna confided in me later that I'd probably needed. Also, I couldn't quite keep myself from scratching it when it was healing. The scarring would go down eventually but it didn't stop Morgana from seeing. Had she been warned that the sorceress had a cut on her cheek?

Biting my lip, I knocked on Lady Heather's door. It opened to reveal a very plump woman with ginger hair. "Is this my meal? It's half an hour late!"

I winced. "I got lost –" I tried.

She sniffed but took the tray anyway. "It had better not be cold." My heart sunk; why did I have to get so distracted? With an amazing display of hand-eye coordination that I could only wish for, she balanced the tray on her hand and lifted the lid. Feeling the food with her fingers to check the temperature, she frowned at me."It's cold."

Then, very purposely, she let the tray fall to the floor with a clatter and a mess.

I sighed and thought it was terribly ironic that I'd managed to keep from dropping it only to have the tray end up on the floor anyway.

How did my life end up like this?

* * *

Adrianna followed Morgana back to her chambers, wondering what she needed help with.

Morgana cleared her throat and nodded toward her chamber door. Understanding, Adrianna shut it tightly. What did Morgana want privacy for? "Yes, Milady?"

Morgana cleared her throat. "I need you to start attending to me at night," she answered. "So far I've been lenient to let you get used to your new position. But-" Morgana swallowed and Adrianna got the impression that she was having difficulty speaking. "It doesn't look like Gwen is going to be found."

Adrianna nodded, swallowing thickly herself.

"Are you aware where the Court Physician Gaius resides?"

Without thinking, Adrianna nodded again. "Yes."

Morgana sighed. "I suffer from nightmares. He makes me a sleeping draught and I need you to bring it to me nightly."

Adrianna forced her face to remain neutral. Jenny had warned her about Morgana, of how she usually had seeing powers. She wondered if Magic could take the form of nightmares. "I will, Milady."

Morgana nodded, "All right. You can leave."

Curtsying again, she turned to go.

"Oh, and Adrianna?" She looked over her shoulder. "Thank-you."

She made her way back to Gaius' quarters, thinking about the laundry she needed to do later. Thinking about Morgana gave her a headache. A lot of that fact had to do with Brittany. They had the same confidence. Seeing Morgana today had been a little different, though. She'd seemed almost vulnerable.

Adrianna sighed. She knew from experience how hard nightmares could be. Currently, she was awoken at least once a night by one. Of course, hers were brought on by stress. If Morgana's nightmares were really visions, and from what Jenny had told her she suspected they might have been, it would have been a lot scarier.

She wished her life was simpler. Why couldn't she just have ended up in the kitchens on dish duty like Jenny? Nothing was so complicated there.

* * *

When Adrianna opened the door to Gaius' chambers, her thoughts still occupied with laundry (another boring, mundane task, like dishes. It was her favourite), Gaius wasn't there. He was only there about half the time, often going to someone's room to treat them or spending time doing who knows what with King Uther. The other half the time, he spent in his quarters doing work – what about, Adrianna had no clue.

Merlin was there though, crushing something with a mortar and pestle, probably work for Gaius.

Adrianna and Merlin hadn't spoken since their argument; she pressed her lips into a thin line. He'd been gone when she woke up that morning (causing her to be _late_ because he didn't wake her!) and she'd been too preoccupied with trying to find Jenny all day to see him at all.

Sighing, she let the door swing shut behind her and automatically pulled her hair from the tight bun she kept it in. Merlin sent her a small smile from across the room. It wasn't returned. He frowned.

"Do you need help?" she asked stiffly, making her way over to him ad peering into the small bowl. It looked to her to be finely crushed salt but she was almost positive it wasn't.

"Oh, would you?" he asked gratefully. "Arthur's left me a heap of armour to polish for tomorrow and if I don't have it done I swear he'll hang me."

Adrianna's eyes found the heap piled messily in the corner of the room. "Fine," she agreed, starting to grind the dust, "But you have to help me with laundry tomorrow then. _I_ have a pile that could reach the ceiling."

Merlin smiled, sitting right on the floor and drawing the nearest piece to him. He dipped the rag in oil and started shining. "I'm sorry," he said after a minute, "I didn't mean to snap at you yesterday. It wasn't right."

Adrianna crushed the crystals with a little more force than necessary, suddenly feeling really angry. "Why is it that you're allowed to apologise but when I do it I'm a horrible person?" she asked, her voice bitter.

"Because I'm apologising for the right reason!" he said hotly, sounding a little disbelieving.

"No," she countered, pushing the mortar and pestle away, "you're not. You're apologising for upsetting me, which is exactly what you accused me of doing."

Merlin put down the armour with a clang and stood up, "They're completely different!"

"No, they're not."

"So, you're angry with me for apologising to you," Merlin asked, as if to confirm. Adrianna didn't answer. "Because I definitely wasn't angry at you for apologising to me."

"No," she said tersely, "You're so hypocritical, aren't you? Jenny and I have been nothing but honest with you from the very beginning and you – you've been asking a freaking _dragon_ for advice the whole time?! Did it not occur to you at all to tell us? I mean, you get up at something like three in the morning, sneak out of here, and you expect me not to be curious? Because _no one's _like that! You aren't either. God, you're the most curious person I know. You accuse me of sneaking around but you're doing it too! You can't have it both ways, Merlin. I ... just –" She took a very deep breath.

The door opened then and Jenny entered, looking sulky. Without another word, her face very red, Adrianna stomped off to the bedroom and slammed the door hard.

Jenny blinked, feeling lost. "She does know that's your room, right?"

Merlin sighed staring at the door, looking slightly like a wounded animal, before turning on his heel and stalking out of the room in the opposite direction.

Jenny was left with the distinct impression that she'd just missed something vital.

* * *

When dusk fell, Adrianna was en route to Morgana's chambers to 'attend to her', clutching the small vial of sleeping draught. Of course, she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. She'd meant to ask Merlin earlier but they had just argued instead. She sighed heavily as she knocked.

"Enter," Morgana's pretty voice echoed.

So she did. Morgana sat at her vanity, brushing out her long hair, which was left down. She was wearing the most uncomfortable looking nightgown Adrianna had ever seen. It was also the prettiest thing she'd ever seen. "Help me with this?" Morgana asked.

Adrianna nodded, setting the potion down and taking the elaborate brush Morgana was offering her. Carefully, she ran it through her hair, untangling the knots that caught with her fingers. It reminded her of when she and Brittany would braid each other's hair in grade school and she felt a lump forming in her throat, swallowing thickly.

"You've never been a personal servant before, have you?" Morgana asked suddenly in a curious voice.

Adrianna shook her head and then, remembering that Morgana couldn't see her, "No, Milady. I was ... a kitchen maid before this. I don't know why they chose me." She lied, her heart pounding against her sternum.

"Your hands didn't look like a kitchen maid's hands," Morgana said.

Adrianna's gaze dropped to her hands in Morgana's hair. The skin was dry and cracked and she had at least three broken nails. She remembered her manicure that had come off completely last week. "I take good care of them..." she stammered.

"Still?"

Adrianna had backed herself into a corner. She wished she'd just learn to leave things alone; she always did this. First with Merlin and now with Morgana. She tried to make her hands stop from shaking.

Unbelievably, Morgana dropped the subject and turned around, smiling a little. "I'll just tell you what Gwen used to do, shall I?"

Adrianna ignored (tried to ignore) the guilt that flooded her stomach. She nodded.

* * *

An hour later saw Adrianna burn herself on the bed warmer and almost drop Morgana's draught while attempting to hand it to her. She was almost crying with relief when she was told to go. "Goodnight, Milady," she said quietly as she closed the door with a click.

Sighing, she turned around. Her heart jumped to her throat and she squeaked in surprise when she came face to face with Merlin.

"Hi." He grinned broadly.

She glared at him. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Because for someone so un-creepy, you can be surprisingly creepy."

"Un-creepy?"

"Yes."

"All right, if you say so."

They started walking back to Gaius' in a slightly awkward silence. Adrianna thought it was all rather unfair. She'd always been the popular one at home. She'd had friends before she could walk and talk and she could never remember not having friends. But here it was like she had to work extra hard just to get people to look twice at her. She had to work at it and she found it very tiresome. Jenny just connected and it left Adrianna feeling a little discarded. She was tired of it.

Adrianna, being the non-coward she was (also noticing that she was making up a lot of new words lately, like un-creepy and non-coward) sighed. "Look, can we not argue about apologising to each other because that's about the most ridiculous thing to argue about ever."

Merlin laughed, "I think we can manage that."

She smiled. Then Adrianna looked down, smirking. "Good because you still need to help me with that laundry tomorrow."

Merlin groaned, "But you didn't finish crushing the—"

"I don't want to know what it was."

"You don't?"

"No."

Merlin was smirking now, "It was –"

"Shut up, Merlin."

"Powdered –"

"LALALALALALA—" Childishly, she covered her ears and started singing in a horrible key.

"All right!" Merlin said loudly, "You need to help me with the armour, then."

Scowling, Adrianna weighed the pros and cons. "Fine," she agreed. "I suppose I can live with that arrangement."

"Good." He was smiling and it was a little infectious.

"Friends, then?" Adrianna asked.

"I thought we already were!" Merlin said in mock outrage.

Adrianna laughed.

* * *

When Adrianna and Merlin walked in the door, they were both laughing. I was leaning against Merlin's bed on the floor, attempting to pay attention to the book I was looking through. Between the three of us we'd made our way through almost all of Gaius' textbooks and were thinking about resorting to going down to the library to research. We didn't expect to find anything on time travel in any of the books and knew that the chances were minimal at best on finding anything related to magic at all in the library, but we thought it might be better to look than to not and have missed something.

"What's funny?" I asked.

They looked at each other and then burst out laughing again. I frowned, feeling slightly left out. I snapped the book shut and they sat down in our triangular formation again, with Adrianna on the floor with me and Merlin perched on his bed. "Another day with nothing found, then," Adrianna said, sighing.

"Yep."

"So... Jenny," Merlin said. "There's a dragon under the castle. And I've been asking him for advice. Um, thought I should tell you." Adrianna smiled from the floor.

I looked at him. "Yeah, Adrianna told me. I thought it was something out of Dinas Emrys at first," I said, laughing.

Merlin stared at me, "What?"

"Never mind, it's just a legend and I shouldn't tell you anyway. It could change things." I regretted mentioning anything at all.

"But... you-you said something about Emrys." Merlin said, leaning forward.

The air had gone very still. "That... is your last name, isn't it? It means Child of Light, belonging to the Gods... You've never heard it before?"

Merlin was frowning. "No, I have. There was a ...druid boy. He called me that."

"Jenny, why does this matter?" Adrianna asked.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "It doesn't to us but..." I trailed off.

"The dragon told me the druid boy was dangerous, the one destined to bring about the fall of Arthur."

I shot up and stumbled back, shocked. Both Adrianna and Merlin were staring at me, surprise flitting about their faces. "His name didn't happen to be Mordred, did it?" I asked weakly in a contrast to my strong reaction.

"I – yes."

There was a pause and I closed my eyes. Adrianna kneeled and pulled me back down to her level. "Stop being such a spazz," she scolded. "You know the legend. Doesn't mean everything's gonna change just because a few things are different."

I still hadn't said anything. I didn't know what to say. There were so many things that crowded at my brain waiting to get to my mouth that I couldn't pick out one of them. Thankfully, Adrianna was still capable of thinking clearly.

"Maybe we should start from the beginning – calm Jenny's nerves a little?" she asked Merlin. "It's not like discussing the Mirror is getting us anywhere right now anyway."

I still had my eyes closed but I imagined Merlin nodding.

"So... um, what's the beginning?" he asked.

I smiled a little, "You said you come from Ealdor, which I've never even heard of before, so where is it?"

He looked a little embarrassed and I wasn't sure if it was because he wasn't used to talking about these things or if it was because of some other reason. "It's a farming town. There's really nothing there."

"And your parents?" I asked swallowing. Somehow, I was really curious. We hadn't officially talked about anything like this so I was eager to see the differences between what was real and what wasn't.

"I lived with my mother," he answered and I nodded, expecting this. Adrianna looked like she had a sudden question but held her tongue.

"Why did you come to Camelot?" Adrianna asked instead. Somehow I knew this wasn't her original question. "If magic is banned..."

"Magic isn't liked in Ealdor, either," he said shortly.

There was a pause and then I asked, "So... how did you meet Arthur? How does the greatest warlock who'll be known in legends fifteen hundred years from now end up as a manservant?"

Merlin rolled his eyes grinning and I got the impression that he didn't really just sit around and talk very often. There was probably a lot to do. "I stopped Arthur from bullying his servant on my first day and I ended up in the cells. Then I saved his life."

I smiled quietly.

"So exactly how many times have you saved him?" Adrianna asked with a crooked smile.

"Good question. I've lost count. Maybe... seven? At least." He answered, looking a little flustered.

"Well, details!" Adrianna demanded. "Come on. Don't leave us hanging."

I could tell he was enjoying being able to talk about it openly, to be recognized and it made me happy. There was something about Merlin that just made you happy to see him happy. Lyssa sometimes made me feel like that, when she wasn't being apathetic.

"Um, there was a witch, Mary Collins. She tried to kill him, obviously. There was a griffin once and I enchanted Lancelot's –" I couldn't help my gasp here, wondering about Lancelot, "—spear. Err, Knight Valiant had a magic shield that I brought to life so everyone could see... Sophia was a Sidhe from Avalon who wanted to sacrifice him, basically so I had to stop that..."

Avalon and Lancelot and I could feel the smile that spread across my face.

"Nimueh tried to kill him too, twice."

My head snapped up, "Nimueh?"

"You mentioned her before, right?" Merlin asked.

I couldn't remember, "What did I say?"

"That I fell in love with her and she tricked me and trapped me in a cave," he answered.

I swallowed, wishing I'd never said anything. "I don't think we should talk about that. Don't trust her," I said quietly.

"But I don't," he said, "I don't love her, I mean. She's cruel and evil and nearly killed me by poison."

I nodded. "Yeah, well," I said uselessly. Morgana was a good person here, which was different too but there was nothing to say that wouldn't change. Especially since Adrianna had told me she was having nightmares earlier. This was magic, I was convinced. "I don't think we should talk about your future," I said suddenly and I could feel Adrianna's eyes on me.

She caught on. "It could influence things to come," she agreed.

Merlin nodded, "I don't really want to know. It doesn't feel right."

"That's odd, though," I did say, "Because in all the legends we know, you always have the power of Sight in one way or another."

"So, if Nimueh is a threat and Morgana's not, what of Morgause?" I asked.

"Who's Morgause?" Merlin and Adrianna asked at the same time.

I blinked, "If... never mind, then."

"So... Mordred." Adrianna said, returning us to the original topic in the first place.

"Tell me the story," I demanded. "How... how did Mordred come into this already?"

Merlin sighed, looking between the two of us. "He was hurt. I could hear him...in my head. He was calling to me so I helped him. Morgana cared for him and we snuck him out of Camelot," he explained.

"So where does the dragon thing-y come into this?" Adrianna asked. "I don't know the legend like Jenny. I can't make these connections."

"He told me not to help him. That my destiny would be all for naught if I did, that he would bring about Arthur's downfall."

I squeezed my eyes shut, "And you helped him anyway."

"He was only a child!" He paused, "But it's true then. You know that as well."

"In our legend, and it shouldn't hurt you to know this, Mordred was Arthur's illegitimate son through incest. He was ignorant of the situation and slept with his half sister by his mother Ygraine and Mordred hated him. He was heir to the throne because Guinevere was never able to have children. He ruined _everything._"

"Did he kill Arthur?" Merlin asked, looking a bit disgusted and a bit sick.

I didn't answer.

Adrianna cleared her throat loudly and gave me a stern look I didn't know how to interpret. "Is Arthur still as much of a prat as when you first met him?"

Merlin came to himself, "He's still a prat but he's gotten loads better."

I smiled, "After everything it sounds like you've done together, I should hope so."

"Yeah," Merlin said, flopping backwards so he was lying on his bed. "I'd like to think it's my amazing influence."

I rolled my eyes, laughing.

Maybe everything was all right this way. There didn't seem to be half so much pain. Arthur grew up as royalty but that was all right, too. He'd still be a wonderful King. Even the dragon Adrianna and Merlin had been talking about said so. And, of course, if the dragon said so, it must be true. I smiled; not all hope was lost after all.

* * *

_A Note on the Title:_

Okay, so the original title of this chapter was Fencing Time and this came from the song _Suds in the Bucket_ by Sara Evans, the line, "'Cause you can't fence time and you can't stop love". But then I was reading _The Crystal Cave_ by Mary Stewart and I came across this poem:

_O Merlin in your crystal cave  
Deep in the diamond of the day,  
Will there ever be a singer  
Whose music will smooth away  
The furrow drawn by Adam's finger  
Across the memory and the wave?  
Or a runner who'll outrun  
Man's long shadow driving on,  
Break through the gate of memory  
And hang the apple on the tree?  
Will your magic ever show  
The sleeping bride shut in her bower,  
The day wreathed in its mound of snow  
and Time locked in his tower?_

Merlin by Edwin Muir. And this is where I got the title instead. So, yeah. I don't own this, either. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review!


	9. A Sharp Edge

_Author's Note:_

Well, here we are with chapter nine. It's an information-heavy chapter but I hope that you enjoy it all the same :D Also, some of the references to science are supposed to confuse you, just so you know. Lyssa's trying to figure everything out so she has a lot of theories. I just wanted to say that. All right-y then. So, moving on:

_Warnings: _AU after series one episode nine, Spoilers for The Once and Future King by TH White  
_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Merlin and I'm not making any money off of this. I do own this story, Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, Brittany and any other original character that you may come across.

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you to **Setari** and **merlin's magi** for reviewing. It means a lot to me *heart*. Also, thanks again to Wren Hightower for beta-ing this even though you have a math midterm tomorrow. You are amazing *heart*.

Okay, I don't think I have anything more to say other than I know that updates have slowed a bit and I'm sorry but real life's caught up with me and I'm afraid it's being quite brutal. Anyway, read, review, and enjoy!

**

* * *

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**-- Chapter Nine: A Sharp Edge --**

Gwen's day _did not_ start out completely, totally, perfectly normal. Not. At. All. In fact, it was so far from normal that it offended her. And, she guessed rightly, it was supposed to as well. She was rooted to the spot in the hallway of Lyssa's school and someone shoved roughly passed her.

The boy, dressed absolutely appallingly, turned around with a scowl on his face. He caught sight of her and smirked suddenly, "Well, you're a pretty thing, aren't you?" He stalked closer and Gwen took a step back, intimidated. "So, I lost my virginity recently. Do you think I could have yours?"

Gwen stood there, gaping for a moment; she couldn't believe someone just said that to her. As a servant, she was used to some derogatory comments being made but that was just crude and disgusting. And she felt herself blush scarlet.

"Recently?" said a sudden voice beside her. "Did he say something very rude, Gwen?" Brittany asked defensively.

"Uh," Gwen responded intelligently.

Brittany smirked, "Alex, I thought we talked about this. Girls don't like you."

And she punched him in the face.

* * *

"I can't believe he said that," Gwen repeated an hour later, still offended. They were sitting in what had become their corner of the cafeteria. "What kind of people live in this time?!"

Brittany was unsurprised, though. Alex was a scum bag and it was just extremely unfortunate that he happened to run into Gwen because, basically, he'd like to screw anyone who was female. "Not everyone's as bad as Alex." She said and, as an afterthought, "Though some do come pretty close."

Gwen stared at her, "How do you stand it?"

Brittany shrugged. "Men are pigs," she answered.

"Oh." She seemed to be momentarily struck dumb. "What were you doing out of class anyway? Didn't you have Ancient History?" Then she thought about her statement and backtracked, which was common for Gwen. "I mean, not that you _need_ to go to your classes. I'm not saying that you're stupid but won't your classmates miss you?" And then thinking again, "Not that you're a bad student of course, I just meant –"

Brittany rolled her eyes. Mostly she let Gwen rabbit on because she found it amusing. The girl talked herself into a hole. "Gwen, I know what you mean. I hate the class. Lyssa'll just have to give me her notes later."

It had been two weeks and Brittany was forced to admit that Lyssa wasn't quite as bad as she originally figured. She often gave Brittany her notes from Ancient History because Brittany had all but stopped attending since Addie had, well, gone back in time.

They hadn't found anything new on that subject either, which was unfortunate. They had the Mirror shard that Lyssa had found in Jenny's notebook but that was as far as they'd gotten. It had circulated between the three of them for a few days but it had come to rest with Lyssa since none of them could make heads or tails of it.

Another thing that circulated was _The Once and Future King_ by T.H. White book. Lyssa had powered through the four books, _The Sword in the Stone, The Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, _and _A Candle in the Wind_, in three days. It had taken Gwen a week to read and now it was sitting in the bottom of Brittany's bag, a bookmark placed half-way through _The Ill-Made Knight_. She'd always been a slow reader, even if it was interesting, and Brittany had to admit it was.

"What are you thinking about?" Gwen asked.

"What do you think?" Brittany asked sarcastically and Gwen frowned. Brittany instantly felt sorry for snapping. "I just mean – you think about it all the time, too, right?"

Gwen nodded.

If anything surprised Brittany, other than the obvious answer of time travel, it was how much she liked Gwen. The girl reminded her insanely of Jenny in the way that she did some things but in other ways, the times when she stood up to Brittany (for example, when she had automatically laughed when a girl tripped in the hallway), she reminded her of Adrianna.

And she was back to thinking about it, like a continuous circle.

The bell, signalling the end of second period, rang and Gwen startled, just like she did every day. Brittany thought that maybe she just wouldn't ever get used to sounds like that. The cafeteria filled up rather quickly and Lyssa was one of the first ones there. She slammed through the door, looking angry. Throwing herself into the chair beside Gwen in a way that made the girl lean away, slightly fearful, she huffed and glared at Brittany. "I don't like you," she eventually said when she'd gotten herself under control again.

It wasn't often Brittany was reduced to speechlessness. This was one of the very rare occurrences. "What did I do?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

An ugly expression on her face, Lyssa reached into her bag and all but threw Jenny's notebook at Brittany. It hit her like a slap to the face.

Brittany sighed, "We need to go through this every time you find something you don't like about me in here?"

That was one thing that didn't get passed through the three of them; Jenny's notebook. Lyssa was fiercely protective of it. Sometimes Brittany wondered if Gwen had read it, since they were staying together but it didn't seem likely. Also, Brittany thought scowling, it was highly unnecessary for Lyssa to have snatched it out of her hand like that. She glared.

After a moment, when the glaring on both sides didn't let up, Gwen sighed audibly. "Children," she said, "play nice."

* * *

As Lyssa sat in her fourth period Physics class, she stared down at her Light test in disdain. Was that seriously her mark?

Written in bright red and circled was the depressing fraction 34/55 with a comment underneath, _please see me_. Lyssa had never felt so stupid. She'd never been asked to _'see me'_ before in her life. Scrambling, she pulled out her calculator and punched the numbers in.

"What did you get?" Ben, the boy who sat beside her asked, leaning over.

"Nothing!" Lyssa snapped, holding the paper close to her.

It was 63%. When her mother saw this, she was going to murder Lyssa in the most painful way possible and then dance on her grave. Lyssa winced at the thought and decided that the paper was never to be seen by anyone ever again. To make her point, she folded it as many times as she could and tucked it into the smallest pocket of her backpack.

Ben was staring at her. "You've always scared me, you know?"

Lyssa rolled her eyes.  
"All right," Mr. Jay sighed a few moments later. "That test was much better for most of you."

Lyssa scowled at her paper.

"If you have a 'see me' written on your sheet, could you stay after class? I really don't want to spend time trying to track you down – I do have better things to do."

Lyssa rolled her eyes.

Mr. Jay leaned against the front of his desk and sighed. "Now, today we're starting the Mass Energy unit. I'm going to be upfront with you, here - this is the hardest unit. If you had trouble with some of the Light concepts, you might have some issues with this as well. I recommend seeking help." Then he looked pensive for a minute, "Ask your classmates. My office hours are for 'me time'."

No one laughed at the joke and Lyssa sighed, thinking about the creased test in her bag with extreme dislike.

She hung around after class with about four other students. She noted that two of them frequently sat at the back of the classroom playing handheld videogames, one of them was Ben, smiling sheepishly at her, and the other was a girl who she was pretty sure she heard bragging in the cafeteria the other day about how she hadn't passed a single Biology test. Lyssa sighed; sometimes she wondered why it always had to be her.

"All right-y then," Mr. Jay said, pulling out his hard copy of the test. "You're all here because you made the same mistakes on the test and I couldn't just let you walk out of here. If, of course, you have absolutely no interest in what I'm saying, that's another matter entirely. So, you can go, if you think you don't need to be here."

Unsurprisingly, Lyssa thought, no one moved.

"So, what did you get wrong, Lyssa?" he asked and Lyssa scowled at him for putting her on the spot.

"I don't know," she replied curtly, "I haven't looked it over."

He rolled his eyes and Lyssa felt a stab of dislike course through her; maybe she would leave.

Mr. Jay seemed to realize at this point that this wasn't going to work. "All of you lack some basic comprehension of the concepts in this unit. Whether this is from a lack of studying or another reason, I don't know. I suggest you review the test and material so that it's understood for the final, because a large chunk of it will be on there."

And through a kind of unspoken agreement, the students dissipated from the room, with the girl from Biology and the Gameboy-boys at the head trying to force their way out the door. Ben seemed to be waiting for her and Lyssa grimaced – why was it always her? She asked herself again.

"Alyssa, could I get a moment?" Mr. Jay asked and she turned, silent. Also, she willed Ben to just leave, definitely not needing him to 'walk her home'. He didn't though, stubbornly sticking to the doorframe. Mr. Jay went right for the heart of the matter. "That last mark wasn't your usual eighties," he said, crossing his arms. "Did you not study?"

Lyssa deadpanned, "I don't study. Ever." But she was also thinking about the all the time she spent leaned over Jenny's notebook trying to decipher her writing recently.

"Look, I know you're upset over Jeanette Styles. They will find her, you know?"

Lyssa blinked, swallowing. "Yeah," she said in a kind of empty voice, "It's not like she's in Camelot, after all."

Mr. Jay looked at her weirdly as she wandered out of the room with Ben. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Um,"

Lyssa was back to the present instantly, "I'm not interested."

"I – what? Wait, I was just – what? No!" He jogged to catch up with her.

Lyssa stopped, frustrated, "Then what do you want?"

Ben bit his lip, "You wouldn't introduce me to your friend Gwen, would you?"

Lyssa laughed.

* * *

It was the next day during second period when Gwen sat in their corner alone. She wasn't sure where Brittany was but she was sure she didn't want to risk getting accosted in the halls just to find her. She was absentmindedly thumbing through one of Lyssa's books (which were really strange stories) but she wasn't really taking anything in. She set it aside and went back to staring at the wall with her cheek resting in her palm.

A moment later, a girl slid into the seat opposite her. Gwen was suddenly strongly reminded of Brittany when she did the same thing, a little over two weeks ago. She had brown wavy hair to her shoulder blades and hazel eyes on a thin face. "So," she said, "are you the girl they found in the mirror?"

Somewhere in the back of her brain, Gwen pouted; apparently she was going to be accosted in the cafeteria instead. But in the front, the part that did most of the thinking was a little shocked. "Um, not _in_ the Mirror," she found herself answering, "Just in the Mirror _frame._" As if that was terribly helpful.

"Um... right," The girl answered. "I'm Michelle."

"Gwen," she responded back, smiling.

Michelle smiled non-threateningly, digging through her bag slung across her shoulders and pulling out what Gwen now knew to be a small container of yogurt. "I took art class with Jenny," she said, examining the squished container and shifting her books, looking for a spoon, Gwen thought.

What came out of Gwen's mouth was, "Jenny could draw?"

Michelle was contemplative for a moment, "Um, not really."

"Oh."

She ripped the yogurt open, frowning when some of it spilled across her hand. "The point is, I wanna know where Jenny is." She licked the yogurt off.

Gwen's mouth fell open with a small noise made at the back of her throat, "I don't know."

"Why not?" Michelle asked. "Jenny didn't have many friends and I was always the one to talk to her in class and all I want is to know where she is."

"But I don't know!" Gwen insisted. "I only know I woke up in the Mirror frame."

Michelle spooned yogurt into her mouth, "My friend Julian 'ran away' a few weeks ago. I ... went with him at first but had to come back... for reasons."

Gwen wondered why she was telling her this.

"So, I was wondering if it was something like that."

"That Jenny and Adrianna ran away together?" Gwen asked confused.

"Not exactly," Michelle said, scraping the small cup with her spoon. "I know Jenny used to draw a lot of pictures of Camelot and I know that the Police investigation is ... not going to help any. So, I was wondering if it was something like that."

Gwen bit down on the inside of her lip – was she that obvious? She tried to keep track of all the things they _weren't_ saying. "Um, I'm not sure," Gwen said.

Michelle sighed, "You can trust me, you know. It's not like everything can be explained in the world."

Gwen was almost certain now that they were talking about the same thing, "I don't know."

There was a momentary flash of anger in Michelle's eyes before she sighed, and tucked the spoon in her yogurt container, "Just... is Jenny all right, then?"

Gwen sighed and wished she had something more useful to say. "I don't know."

* * *

Though that wasn't the oddest conversation Gwen had ever had in her life (she distinctly remembered one with Merlin that started out with "Who'd want to marry Arthur?" which she thought back on as extremely ironic and kind of sad) but it did come very close. It was certainly the strangest conversation she'd had since she woke up in this time, even if she did have several people coming up to her all the time to ask if she was the girl who Mr. Sloan had found in the Mirror frame. In a small school, just like between the serving staff back home, rumours spread like wild fire.

Lyssa and Brittany had joined her when the lunch bell rang. They were arguing loudly when they came into the cafe. About what, Gwen had no clue. Also, she was quite sure she didn't want to know. Currently, as she took a bite out of the apple Lyssa had packed for her that morning, Gwen was watching Lyssa study for her Physics make-up test. She was bent low over her paper, making notes in red pen. Brittany was reading _The Once and Future King_, playing with the bookmark in one hand. In all, the three of them were pretty quiet.

"Hi," a voice said as someone sat down beside her. Lyssa groaned when she heard it.

"Ben, I told you no, didn't I?"

The boy, with sandy blonde hair that somehow stayed in the permanent position of being spiked (Gwen wasn't sure how people got their hair to stay in these styles but she knew that if anyone ever tried that at home, they would not only be looked at weirdly but they would be unsuccessful. Especially with the odd colours). "I'm taking initiative," he answered her and then he looked at Gwen. "Hi, I'm Ben."

She smiled uncertainly at him, wondering if this was going to be a lot like yesterday when Brittany was almost suspended for punching Alex in the face. "Ah, I'm Gwen," she answered.

There was a pause and she heard Brittany sigh as she flipped a page.

"So, you don't remember anything do you?" he asked.

Gwen winced. "Not really, no," she answered. "I mean, I know the necessities! Just not my own information. Like, my name." Why did she do this to herself? If she could only sew her lips shut, she'd be able to save herself from the embarrassment.

Ben was smiling, though. "Are you seeing anyone for that?"

Not knowing exactly what he was talking about, she shook her head. Brittany jumped in. "The doctors didn't recommend it," she explained, "They said that the memory would come back or it wouldn't. There wasn't really anything that could help it."

Brittany was a much better liar than her, she noticed, slightly envious. Ben narrowed his eyes at her, "Since when do you and Lyssa hang around together?"

Brittany glared at him and Gwen winced. Brittany scared her sometimes. "Since now," she said angrily and something in her tone made Ben change the subject.

"So, do you know how old you are?"

Gwen shook her head again. "Older than Lyssa," she answered. "By a bit."

Then, suddenly, there was a very loud gasp from the other end of the table. The three of them looked toward Lyssa, who was standing, clutching her test violently with both hands, "I just... I mean –"

Brittany was up immediately. "What?" she asked.

"I've got to go to the library. Like, right now. I think I've figured something out." Her hand strayed to her sweater pocket, where the piece of Mirror, wrapped in a protective cloth, was. She shoved her papers into her backpack, crumpling everything in her haste. "The glass – refraction, I mean –"

She swung her bag over her shoulder, nearly hitting someone sitting near to her and pushed her way out of the cafe. Gwen and Brittany looked at each other. "Don't you love it when she does that?" Brittany asked before following Lyssa.

Gwen sighed.

"Did I just miss something important?" Ben asked.

* * *

Brittany scowled as she took the very back seat in third period Biology. It was the only class she took with Lyssa other than Ancient History. Unfortunately, as the seating plan was already made, she and Lyssa sat on opposite sides of the classroom. They had, after all, hated each other at the beginning of the semester.

She was being tight-lipped about the whole thing. Brittany stayed very far away from Physics and had no idea what Lyssa was talking about. And she was refusing to explain it, which was really annoying.

Mrs Nook was lecturing about something and Brittany swore to herself that she'd make notes today but she was biting on her pen instead, staring at the lines on her blank sheet of paper.

" – Blood is made up of components. It has several layers to it. If you spin it in a centrifuge you'd see the plasma, which is the liquid portion of our blood –"

There had been blood at the sight of the 'abduction'. Lyssa said it had been Jenny who'd cut herself. This had led the police into thinking that there had been foul play involved in their disappearance. No one had taken any notice of the fact that Gwen seemed to come out of nowhere. Or that Lyssa probably should have remembered what happened, if she was there the entire time. She wasn't sure where they were going with the investigation but it was sure to lead to a dead end.

" – dissolved vitamins and proteins. There are also leukocytes and erythrocytes. Which are the white and which are the red blood cells?"

Brittany started writing, making as list. Looking at it from their side this is what they knew. Jeanette and Addie had gone back in time and Gwen (Guinevere) had come forward. So, it was safe to assume that Jeanette and Addie were stuck somewhere around the time of King Arthur. But, they also knew from what Gwen had told them that the legend was twisted. King Arthur was really Prince Arthur and Merlin was not old and she didn't want to talk about the magic thing at all.

"Brittany, do you know?"

Her head snapped up from her paper. "Um, Leukocytes are the white blood cells?" she answered, sounding like she was asking.

Mrs Nook pressed her lips together and moved on. Brittany went back to what she was doing.

The Magic Thing. That was the problem with the whole thing. The Mirror was obviously magic but why had it chosen Jeanette and Addie at that moment? And why Gwen? The only thing that made sense was that it was broken, that they'd smashed it. But, could smashing the Mirror activate magic? When they'd asked Gwen, she'd had no idea. Magic was forbidden by the King, where she was from and so she was fairly useless when it came to that bit of information.

Had they looked at all the angles, though? Was it the smashing? Or something else entirely. Was it something on Gwen's end? They knew she hadn't broken the Mirror in Morgana's chambers so it couldn't have been that. Maybe she was just the innocent bystander in all of this. Maybe the Mirror had arbitrarily chosen someone. Or maybe Gwen was supposed to be the fill in for Jenny. She wondered sometimes... they were very similar.

But where did that leave Addie, then?

The bell rang and she closed her notebook on her list, sighing. She joined Lyssa in the line to get out the door, noticing the odd look that they were getting from Mrs Nook. She guessed, uncaringly, that this had to do with her and Lyssa's sudden friendship.

* * *

"So, are you planning on telling me what you were going on about in the cafe?" Brittany asked.

Lyssa sighed, "After my Physics test. Mr Jay's gonna make me go and sit in the library."

"Fine," Brittany responded sulkily as they parted ways at the English room.

When she handed her test in, she still wasn't feeling terribly confident in it but it was probably a better grade than a 63. Brittany and Gwen were waiting for her outside the Physics room. "Hey," she greeted. "Do we just wanna go to my house?" Lyssa asked.

"Sure," Brittany agreed. "Not like I have anything better to do."

The walk was short but Brittany started hounding her as soon as they were out of the school. "What were you talking about, refraction?"

"What _is_ refraction?" Gwen asked.

Lyssa sighed, hating the Light unit. "It's the bending of light," she said. "White light's made of the colours of the rainbow, right? So every colour has a different wavelength associated with it and, um, when it goes through something like glass, light slows down and every wavelength bends a different amount. Which is how we see rainbows through crystals. It's called dispersion."

"Thanks for the Physics lesson," Brittany said sarcastically, "How is this of any relevance?"

"Well, I was just – thinking," Lyssa answered carefully, aware of Gwen's and Brittany's eyes on her. "We're all kind of unsure how magic works, right? I mean, why did it choose you," she said to Gwen, "when it could have chosen anyone from any period of time that it's gone through, right? And, why didn't two people come through when both Jenny and Adrianna went through? Mirrors are usually really reflective surfaces, the light bounces back. But what if the magic's made this one different? I mean, clearly you can see your reflection but when the magic's active do you think the laws of physics might not apply? What if they were kind of like light when they were going back?"

"... You've lost me," Gwen admitted.

Lyssa sighed. "I don't know," she said, looking at the sidewalk as they approached her house, "but when I look in the mirror I see flashes of things... I thought it might have been my imagination at first but I'm sure it's not now. And maybe time behaves like light? So, instead of being reflected off the Mirror it passes through it, like refraction."

Brittany's face was the picture of horror, "You didn't tell us any of this, why?!" she demanded. "That you were seeing things in the Mirror. Do you know what that's called?"

Lyssa shook her head, biting her lip and pulling her keys out of her pocket to unlock her door. "I just – I thought I was being stupid, all right? I didn't think there was anything _there_. I –" she sighed as she toed off her shoes and dropped her backpack by the wall, "don't know," she finished. "I don't know."

Brittany ignored her, "It's called scrying! Don't you _read_?"

"Yes, I _read_," Lyssa shot back as they made their way up to Lyssa's bedroom. "But I don't know what scrying is."

"It when you can see things that are happening in other places through a medium," Brittany explained. "Like water or glass or _mirrors_."

Lyssa and Gwen stared at her.

"What?" she asked defensively, "I'm not allowed to read fantasy books?"

* * *

"What do you see?" Gwen had asked her later, a curiosity that had been gnawing at her.

"Nothing specific," Lyssa had answered. "Flashes of colour at first. And then shapes. I think I saw Adrianna at one point. And I don't think it's me. It's the Mirror. You could as easily have seen it as me." She held the Mirror fragment out to make her point.

Automatically, Gwen shied away from it. "Sorry," she said.

Lyssa had just shaken her head.

It was sitting on Lyssa's desk. Brittany had examined it extensively before she left but she hadn't seen anything. Gwen allowed herself to wonder how scrying worked. _Was _it the Mirror? Or was it Lyssa?

Lyssa was sleeping and Gwen had tried but she couldn't. The most she succeeded in doing was tying herself in a knot in with the blanket. So, she was sitting with the blankets pooled around her waist, wondering if she dared.

Lyssa kept Jenny's notebook to herself and Gwen had never asked to read it. She already knew Lyssa would say no. But that was another curiosity that, if she was truly honest with herself, she wanted satisfied. Biting her lip, she pushed the covers away and slipped off the cot she slept on. She reached into Lyssa's backpack and pulled out the notebook, flipping it open. The handwriting was small and messy and slanted to the right. She turned a few pages in and lowered herself into the chair at Lyssa's desk, reading.

The more she read, the more she wished she didn't read. It was well written and it read nicely but it didn't leave her with a nice feeling and it seemed intensely private. The pages were filled with Jenny's thoughts and short stories and even school notes, mostly from history courses. There were small drawings (and she could totally see what Michelle had meant about Art class) and scribbles and to-do lists. She discovered that she could relate a lot with Jenny. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Gwen wished very much that she could meet her. She caught her own name several times but it wasn't in relation to her, not really anyway.

It was talking about _Guinevere_. From _The Once and Future King_. That book hadn't left her with a nice feeling, either. It told her a lot of things that weren't true, would never be true, and that she'd rather not reflect on. It also told her a lot of things she'd rather have remained ignorant about.

Firstly, she was not Queen Guinevere and she would never be Queen Guinevere. And her almost instantaneous feelings for Lancelot aside, she'd only met him once and it didn't really look like she'd be seeing him again anytime soon. She did not like Queen Guinevere and was actually worried about the amount of traits that she shared with her. It didn't seem like very many but she couldn't be sure. She wondered how exactly the legend had been twisted so strangely to end up as it was told in _The Once and Future King_. She wondered how people must think of her because she was so very selfish in the story.

And Morgana was a lovely person. She was not vain or shallow as she was portrayed and it hurt Gwen a little bit when she'd read about it. It made her miss Morgana even more. Because she was her best friend and, while Lyssa was a sweetheart and she loved her to pieces even after just two weeks, she really wanted to go home.

As she closed Jenny's notebook, she sighed, running her fingers over the Mirror shard. She didn't know what to think of magic anymore. Obviously it wasn't good but in the story.... Well, in the story Merlin had magic and she didn't like thinking about it. Merlin was supposed to have been her friend and to think that he'd been a sorcerer the whole time... well, it felt like a betrayal. But no one could ever say that Merlin was evil. And she couldn't really see a way around it. There was no way that it would be twisted to such a severe extent. Or would it? The whole thing was confusing.

But, in a strange way, it made sense. At the very least, it certainly explained a lot.


	10. The Lady of the Lake

_Author's Note:_

-Peaks around corner-

Hello? Is anyone there? …. If anyone's interested, Chapter 10's here…

Yes. This took me a horrendous amount of time. I'm hoping that you'll forgive this because I come with (hopefully) valid excuses. One: My midterms killed me inside. They continue to kill me. Death by Psych1200 on Tuesday… Two: My computer hates me and needs to die a painful death. For those of you who check the regular updates on my profile, you'll know that my computer decided it needed to crap out on me while I was trying o save and I lost 2000 words. At the time, that was half of what I had written. Three: This chapter is absurdly long. Like, 11000 words. Please forgive this. I tried to keep it shorter, I promise but it just grew and grew and grew like a weed until it took over the entire garden.

Yes. Well.

I also have some … warnings? This is the chapter where the AU is made prominent. You'll see what I mean when you read it. I hope this doesn't bother anyone too much. Also, some of the lines were taken directly from Episode nine and you'll notice differences between the episode and the chapter. I needed to find a way around Gwen not being there. Also, I want to assure everyone that I won't just be going through Season One. This is purely used as a jumping off point.

The rest of this A/N is continued at the bottom of the chapter as to avoid spoilers.

Warnings: Horribly AU after S1 Episode 09, Spoilers for The Once and Future King by TH White.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin in anyway, though I wish I did…. I do own Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, Brittany and any other original character that may pop up during the course of the story.

Please enjoy! Remember to review!

* * *

**-- Chapter Ten: The Lady of the Lake --**

Merlin's day _did not_ start out completely, totally, perfectly normal. This, he blamed completely on himself. And a little bit on Jenny. Yes, it was definitely partly Jenny's fault.

The mist came to their knees, swirling softly and the morning air was damp. The sun had not yet risen. Jenny with Adrianna were to his right and the sword was heavy in his hands. He hesitated and called out.

* * *

"_What?!"_ I swallowed thickly and regretted my outburst as everyone in my immediate area turned to look at me. I quieted my voice, "What do you _mean_ there's going to be a ceremony?"

George, who stood at my old spot up to his elbows in dishwater, looked at me like I was stupid and a little insane. "How plainer can I be?"

A moment later someone thrust a tray at me and ushered me out into the corridor with a name. I was to deliver it to Lord Edgar's chambers and I sighed, very thankful that I'd quickly memorized the castle routes.

As I climbed the stairs with a firm grip on my tray, I worried my bottom lip. The ceremony that George was talking about was a crowning ceremony. Arthur was to become Crown Prince of Camelot. Most servants, especially the kitchen staff, were expected to attend to it. As a runner I'd be one of the ones most desperately needed. This, I thought, a little bit absent, could only end in tears.

* * *

"Don't you know what this _means_?!" Adrianna asked in a stressed voice that night. I was seated on the floor and Merlin was on his bed. Adrianna frantically paced in a circle and I wondered if she'd soon wear the floorboards thin.

"That Arthur's to inherit the crown?" I asked stupidly.

She sighed in frustration, tugging at her hair. "The castle will be unguarded! I mean, there'll be guards but nowhere that might be important!"

Merlin and I exchanged a very confused look.

"It's a chance to look for the Mirror, you --!"

_Oh._ My brain caught up with what she was saying and it was a thought that made a lot of sense. But I could see the flaws with it creeping up as well. As if knowing what I was thinking, Merlin's worried face mirrored mine. "I can't not be there. Arthur will miss my presence and I swear he'll kill me. Your presence would be noticed too, Adrianna."

I looked between them, misunderstanding. "I don't want to look by myself!" I protested.

Adrianna looked at me like I was stupid and I was beginning to feel quite stupid today. "Like we'd let you do that," she said huffily, "you're a walking talking hazard as it is. You're worse than Merlin."

"Hey!"

Adrianna resumed pacing and she was beginning to scare me a little. "I'll go with you -" she started before Merlin cut her off. "Did you not hear what I _just_ said?"

"Shut up, Merlin." He was glaring at her but I doubted she even noticed at this point. "I'll go with you," she repeated purposely. "Jenny and I will be there for the beginning and I'll get Morgana to dismiss me early. Jenny can just sneak away. With all the excitement I don't think she'll be too noticed."

Merlin still looked slightly annoyed. "And how do you plan on getting her to dismiss you early?"

"I don't know," Adrianna ground out, "It's not like your plans come to you fully formed, either!"

I sighed, resting my cheek in my palm. They bickered almost constantly. It was like Stop and Go, that game that kids play in Phys. Ed. The problem was I could tell that they really wanted to be good friends. But Adrianna was stubborn and a control freak and needed to know everything about everyone and had ridiculously high standards. Merlin, on the other hand, frequently up and left to do things his own way and on his own time and Adrianna disappointed him a lot because she was rather mean. It made me wonder, because Lyssa was apathetic and a very good friend but she was not very normal, if this was the way friendship usually worked.

I realized I'd tuned their argument out when the door to Merlin's room opened and an exasperated Gaius poked his head in. "It sounds like someone died in here," he remarked calmly.

The room had gone silent and Merlin and Adrianna were basically glaring at each other red-faced. I sighed heavily.

* * *

There was absolutely no way that this was going to work. No way at all. And Adrianna was insane.

The events leading up to the ceremony - feast – thing – were a bit of a blur. I was nervous and not just for the one blindingly obvious reason, namely sneaking out of Prince Arthur's coronation and possibly getting caught. There were very clear, small-in-a-build-up-sort-of-way reasons as to why I'd bitten my nails down to the quick. For example, Adrianna and I had absolutely no sense of direction and even though I knew the main points of the castle fairly well from running plates, the places she was likely to want to look seemed dark and out of the way. Also, I very much doubted that the Mirror was in one of the hallways. Did Adrianna want to start breaking into rooms? Because that was where I drew my hypothetical line. Was the Mirror even in the main part of the castle? What if Uther had it locked away with all of the other objects he'd deemed magical and dangerous?

As a result of the nervousness that flooded my stomach, I was a little jumpy.

"Jenny."

I startled, my free hand coming up to clutch at my heart. The other hand had just barely managed to keep from dropping the stack of plates I was handing to George.

I turned to see Merlin, also with dishes in his hands. Probably Arthur's. And I pushed that thought away, wishing I could just derail the train of thought altogether. "Hmm?" I hummed in response.

"Are you all right?"

I looked between him and George, who was also staring at me. "Yeah, I'm fine," I answered.

The sceptical look on George's face as he immersed the plates in the water made me curious and Merlin set his dishes down and laid a hand on my arm. "Um, you're shaking."

Blinking, I realized that I was and tried to make myself stop. It didn't work. "I get excited when something big's about to happen," I offered as an excuse.

Someone, the girl that I'd knocked over a couple days ago, passed me a tray and a name. I sighed and looked longingly at the dishes. Merlin followed me out of the kitchens. "Seriously, Jenny," he said, "You look like you're going to pass out or something."

"I'm fine," I repeated.

"The tray's shaking."

"What?"

"The tray. It's shaking."

I looked down and I noticed that my hands weren't stable enough to keep he tray still. I blushed. "I'm _nervous_," I answered his sceptical look. "I've never even skipped class let alone something that's so important."

With a confused look, he pried the tray from my fingers, leading me down a hallway, "You don't have to do it, you know. There'll be other opportunities to find the Mirror."

I chewed my thumbnail distractedly. "Adrianna really wants to go home," I said in a whisper.

He sighed, blue eyes thoughtful, "I know."

* * *

I spent the rest of my morning and the entirety of my afternoon in the kitchens. The feast was tonight and they needed every hand they could get. Tom was barking orders right, left, and centre and food was being made and tasks were being set.

I was designated one of the serving staff. Privately, I was very relieved. It would be much easier to sneak away with Adrianna when she gave me the signal this way rather than if I was working behind the scenes. Till then though, not knowing what to do with me, they stuck me with George on dishes. He was in another bad mood so we didn't do very much talking.

Finally, when the time was approaching and the hall was being set up for the guests, George and I were sent on a final run. Tom made him come with me because he didn't think I'd competently be able to carry three trays. He was probably right.

"Are you excited?" I asked him.

George pulled a face, "For what, the ceremony? Not really. It's just another complicated job where all the servants will be on their feet for twelve hours."

I frowned and looked down. If I wasn't so nervous I knew I would be excited. Then again, as Adrianna constantly told me, I was a bit strange.

Adrianna had spent most of the day with the Lady Morgana doing whatever a maidservant does to get their Lady ready for a feast, I suppose. And Merlin was with Prince Arthur doing whatever a manservant did to ready their Lord for a feast. I felt a small pang of jealousy make its way into my stomach. I was stuck with George carrying a tray to a boring noble who wasn't attending the feast. I frowned, looking at the floor.

I should have known better, really. My luck never holds out for long and my day had been pretty calm so far. It was only natural that I should somehow find a way to ruin it.

I tripped over my dress.

This wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't carrying the tray. Or if I hadn't automatically grabbed George's sleeve to steady myself. Somehow in a tangle of limbs I brought him down with me and the trays and food clattered noisily to the ground around us.

"Ow," I said, extracting myself from him.

He was glaring at me and I blushed as he violently brushed his clothes off and hauled me up. "You are a deathtrap," he told me.

I sighed, "I know." I bent down and attempted to pick up the trays without making an even bigger mess. George leaned down to help me, still looking a bit angry. My incompetence meant we'd have to both clean the mess go back to the kitchens and get them to remake the food. They were not going to be happy. This was when my luck decided to make itself known.

"Jenny?"

I looked up to see Merlin with Prince Arthur behind him, dressed very formally. I flushed instantly and stood up. "My Lord," I bowed my head nervously and George just sighed. I heard him mutter something about drawing attention to us and I swallowed, looking down and squeezing my eyes shut.

Merlin knelt down to help him gather the trays right away before the Prince pulled him back up by his shirt collar. "We don't have time for this," he said harshly, prodding Merlin forward.

I felt something akin to shock, I think.

Arthur turned to George. "And what kind of competent servant drops things? Learn how to do your job." He took the trays Merlin was holding and shoved them at George, who pursed his lips but said nothing. Merlin was staring at me.

As Arthur pushed Merlin forward and walked around us I gritted my teeth together and spoke without thinking. "Forgive me, Sire." I was twisting my apron in my hands. "It was me who dropped the trays. It was my fault."

Arthur turned, looking angry but I went on babbling.

"And it was an accident. And I don't think that an accident warrants such a harsh scolding. Especially when you didn't see it happen." My brain caught up with what my mouth was saying and I bit my lip and curtsied. "Forgive me," I gasped again.

Quickly I pulled George's sleeve, tugging him down another hallway and out of sight, toward the kitchens. He stared at me the whole way.

_"What?"_ I asked irritably.

"Nothing."

* * *

Arthur stared after her for a moment. He could have sworn he'd seen her somewhere before, recently. "Who was that?" he demanded.

Merlin rolled his eyes as they kept walking. "That was Jenny," he answered, "she works in the kitchens."

Then it hit him. That was the girl who threw _porridge_ in his face. "Is that –" he asked to confirm.

Merlin just smirked and nodded.

Arthur just huffed, frowning. He didn't say anything about what the girl had said and if he caught Merlin looking at him with an odd expression, he dutifully ignored it. And then, for good measure, he added, "Shut up, Merlin."

"I didn't say anything!"

Arthur just shook his head and started forward again, managing to keep from responding. They'd be there all day if he did because Merlin just didn't know when he'd _clearly_ lost an argument.

The heaviness of his chain mail and his cloak on his shoulders was a little reassuring. He wasn't _nervous_ of course, because he _didn't get_ nervous, but the weight was familiar and not unwelcome.

Sadly, he thought as he entered the hall, that wasn't the strangest conversation he'd had today. Earlier, this morning, he'd been out in the courtyard when a tall, coloured man who he'd vaguely recognised as Guinevere's father approached him.

"Please," he'd said looking a little bit broken. "Please, find my daughter. She's all I have."

Arthur hadn't known what to do and Tom had thrust a sword wrapped in a red cloth at him. "It's the best I've ever made," he'd said.

So, the sword was sitting in Arthur's chambers. And he had to admit it was one of the best he'd ever seen as well. Perfectly balanced. It was completely gorgeous as well. It was a shame that he could do nothing about Guinevere. He knew that it was giving Morgana a difficult time, and Merlin, though he seemed a bit better now. It made Arthur wonder about Morgana's new maid, who he seemed to spend all of his time with now...

Sighing, he watched Merlin open the double doors to the hall for him and decided to stop thinking about troubling things. He smiled.

* * *

Adrianna stood dutifully off to the side beside Merlin when everything commenced. Looking him over, she thought it was a bit unfair that he got special servant attire when she was stuck in the same dress she wore all the time.

"What?" he asked, looking suspicious.

Adrianna rolled her eyes. "Nothing. I'm going to grab Jenny and go in a minute, I think."

Merlin nodded, his eyes on Arthur. Adrianna's followed his gaze. "I'm onto you, you know," she smiled.

"What?" he asked again, looking confused.

Adrianna smirked now. "You look like you want to jump him," she teased.

Merlin turned beet red almost right away. "I do not!" he insisted, looking embarrassed.

Adrianna laughed, "Oh, relax. I know." She grinned as Merlin glared at her, "But you can't deny you care about him."

Merlin rolled his eyes, his face still pink. "Just go find Jenny," he muttered, looking like he was trying not to smile.

Adrianna found Jenny standing with George, looking half sulky and half enthralled at what was going on around her. Their eyes caught and Jenny nodded at her. As she approached she heard the tail end of a conversation, "Cover for me, okay?"

"What? No! If Tom finds out –"

"You owe me," Jenny said, a determined expression on her face. George looked exasperated but finally spit out, "Fine."

Jenny smiled delightedly and Adrianna rolled her eyes. "Hurry up," she hissed, "I told the Lady Morgana I wasn't feeling well, so..." Jenny smiled and followed her out of the hall, weaving through the servants and guests inconspicuously. With all of the excitement, it was easy not to miss two serving girls.

Quickly, they made their way into a corner of the castle on a higher floor up three flights of stairs and looked at each other. Adrianna huffed, seeing Jenny look quite proud of herself.

"So, where are we going to look?" she asked all innocent-like.

Adrianna pressed her lips together and it dawned on her – she hadn't thought this far ahead. "Well, we're guaranteed two hours, right? Minimum? ... I don't think arbitrarily searching people's rooms is going to help us. I've been thinking recently... What if Uther has the Mirror hidden? You know with all the other magic stuff?"

"I knew it!" Jenny shouted and Adrianna had to muffle her mouth with her hand. "I knew this was going to end badly!" Jenny whispered after managing to wriggle out of her hold. "What are we going to do, sneak into Prince Arthur's chambers _while he's being crowned _to steal his keys?"

Adrianna glared; this was wholly unfair. It wasn't just her fault. So, to spite Jenny, "Yes, that's exactly what we're going to do."

"Um, no." Jenny said, drawing back from her. "I won't."

Adrianna's mouth dropped open. _"What?"_

Jenny raised her chin and looked at her defiantly. "I said I won't."

Adrianna couldn't believe this was happening. Jenny had never, ever spoken to her like that before. However, before her thoughts could get any further and before she could even think about formulating a response, there was loud, energized talking, yelling, groups of footsteps and the sounds of panic and excitement.

"... What is that?" Adrianna asked.

Jenny, eyes wide, shoved her hand over Adrianna's mouth, dragging her into one of the many dark corners of the castle. Adrianna bit down on one of Jenny's fingers and she snatched her hand back, cradling it to her hand to her chest. "What. Is. _Wrong._ With. You?" she ground out.

Half to shut her up, half to be spiteful, immaturely, to prove her point, Adrianna clamped her hand down on Jenny's lips. They struggled for a minute and somehow Jenny managed to get their dresses caught together in a knot and Adrianna accidentally bashed her own head off the wall. When they untangled themselves they were quiet, holding their breath and glaring at each other, hoping no one had heard their scuffle. Adrianna heard snippets of conversation.

"—Did you see the --?"

"And his horse! I'm worried for Sir –"

"—Owain! He picked up the gauntlet. Do you think –"

"-- tomorrow, single combat. To the death –"

" –will he win?"

Lost, Adrianna looked toward Jenny, whose brow was wrinkled in concentration. They stared at each other wordlessly. What, exactly, had happened?

* * *

In the hustle and bustle of all the Lords and Ladies returning to their rooms, it was easy for Adrianna and me to slip back to Gaius' chambers unnoticed. As quietly as possible, I bolted the door after I shut it. Merlin and Gaius were still out, it seemed. Biting her lip, Adrianna dropped into a chair that surrounded the table and I leaned against Gaius' workbench, tearing at the skin around my thumbnail.

After a few very tense moments filled with silence and Adrianna and I sending each other worried looks, the door rattled and I jumped up to let them in. Merlin was very pale and Gaius' face betrayed nothing.

"What—?" Adrianna started when Merlin sighed and pushed us toward his room, giving Gaius a significant look over his shoulder. "What's going on?" she tried again when Merlin shut his door.

"Sir Owain took up a challenge fight to the death," Merlin said, pacing around the room. "A black knight interrupted the ceremony and he threw down his gauntlet. Sir Owain picked it up – Arthur's furious. You two were okay, then? No one saw you?"

I shook my head, "There was excitement and we came straight here. We didn't want to get caught." I bit my lip, "Do you... will Sir Owain win?"

"Wait!" Adrianna interjected, looking confused. "What's going on? I don't get it. Picking up the gauntlet means that he accepted the challenge, right? Why doesn't Arthur just fight in his place?"

Merlin was frowning. "Knight's code doesn't allow it," he said. "And Arthur's nothing if not honourable."

* * *

Later, much later, Adrianna and I were lying on the floor facing away from each other. I could tell she was awake too because her breathing was soft and she kept fidgeting. Merlin, restless, was talking to Gaius. We could hear them murmuring on the other side of the door.

The problem, I decided, was that everything had gone so smoothly until now. You'd never know that we'd tripped and fallen right into the legend that was the influence to the adventurous works that could come to be known as classics – Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, even Harry Potter. But there'd been no adventures so far, other than our pathetic escape from the cells with Merlin's help. I rolled onto my back, thinking. I'd read everything I could get my hands on about Arthurian Legend: _I am Morgan Le Fey_ and _I am Mordred_ by Nancy Springer, The Guenevere Trilogy by Persia Woolly, The Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte, _The Mists of Avalon_ by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I'd read both series on Merlin by T.A. Barron and Mary Stewart, and of course I'd read _The Once and Future King_ by T.H. White.

And of course, nothing prepared me for being thrust into this time where it barely resembled the legend at all. But, reading all about it didn't prepare me for the knot of nervous dread for the things that seemed to be on the horizon, the adventure that was all but promised in the words on the pages, either.

I rolled onto my other side to find Adrianna staring at me. "What do we do now?" she whispered.

I bit the inside of my lip. "Good question."

* * *

It was difficult for Adrianna to get up the next morning and return to her duties as Morgana's maid. Morgana was silent and touchy and Adrianna dressed her in her best dress for the fight between the mysterious Black Knight and Sir Owain. When she opened her mouth to ask if she was dismissed to the kitchens for the day, Morgana caught her wrist.

"Yes, Milady?" Adrianna asked, surprised.

Taking out a thin red strip of cloth, "I want you to take this to Prince Arthur's chambers," she said, looking away toward the window. "Tell Sir Owain that it is a token of good luck from me. Come back here after. I wish for you to sit with me during the match."

Opening her mouth to respond, Adrianna was struck dumb. Finally she managed, "Yes, Milady," and curtsied before turning and leaving the room. She wondered if Morgana was worried about Sir Owain or for Arthur or if she, too, felt like there was something more to this. She and Jenny had talked about it that morning and Adrianna's stomach had been upset ever since.

She'd never been to Prince Arthur's chambers before, but Jenny had, she remembered. Nervously, she knocked three times on the wooden door. The door opened to reveal Merlin and she was relieved to have a familiar presence with her. Bowing slightly as she stepped into the room, her eyes fell on Prince Arthur (who she decided was _very_ good looking; then she mentally reproached herself. This was _not_ the time for that), whose hands were gripping Sir Owain's shoulders in a gesture of reassurance.

They turned to look at her and she inclined her head, "The Lady Morgana sent me with this." She held out the red cloth to Sir Owain and he took it from her gently. "She said that it was to be a symbol of good luck and wishes you to wear it."

Sir Owain smiled, looking very much the knight he was in his chain mail and red Camelot attire. "Please tell her I shall wear it with pride and thank her. But I won't need luck."

Adrianna stepped back and curtsied, exchanging a worried look with Merlin as she left.

She made her way back to Morgana's quarters and sighed as she knocked on the door again and entered. "He told me to thank you and that he'll wear it," she said, looking somewhere above Morgana's left shoulder, "but he says he won't need the luck."

Morgana pursed her lips. "This is ridiculous," she confided, still staring out the window. "The Knight's Code is unreasonable. If Sir Owain doesn't defeat this stranger, he will die. And no one knows anything about him. Arthur refuses to bend the rules, says that the Code must be upheld, even though he doesn't think that it's right either."

Surprised that Morgana was telling her these things Adrianna fumbled for a response. "He might win," she said. "There's still hope, isn't there?"

Morgana turned to her. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

* * *

It was chilly out as they sat in the stands and Adrianna couldn't stop fidgeting. She also felt a small curling of guilt in her stomach for Jenny, who was stuck in the kitchens, going out of her mind with curiosity. The Black Knight was standing rooted in the middle of the ring, stoic and unmoving, intimidating. Arthur and Sir Owain entered. He looked nervous, a lot more nervous than he was in Arthur's chambers. Adrianna swallowed, her heart in her throat. Morgana beside her was silent and pale, her hands balled into fists, nervously tugging at her dress where no one but Adrianna could see. Her face was composed.

Sir Owain made his way to stand in front of the Black Knight, supportive words from Arthur in his ear. There were drums being played and it made Adrianna's pulse quicken. She wasn't sure what she expected.

The drums stopped when Arthur stepped forward with Merlin slightly behind him. He spoke to the Black Knight and to Sir Owain, "The fight will be to the Knight's rules ... and to the death."

They readied themselves, helmets on and swords drawn and raised.

Arthur's voice rang out in the silence of the crowd, "Let the battle commence."

It was rough and quick and violent. It wasn't helped that the scale difference between them was huge. It was like David and Goliath.

Owain thrust the sword and it was blocked. Again and again, sword – shield – sword – shield. He was losing, forced backward across the square.

Arthur was sitting with his father and Adrianna saw him lean over the barrier. "One well aimed blow!" he bellowed.

Owain was still on defence, trying to find a counter. He kicked the Black Knight in the ribs and the effect was minimal. The crowd was cheering and then suddenly Owain was on his knees at the Black Knight's mercy. He stabbed down.

Adrianna gasped, her hands flying to her mouth and her heart beating a thousand miles a minute. He was _dead_. She'd just seen someone die. Whatever she had expected, it wasn't this. Owain lay dead on the ground, unmoving, un-breathing. Only half an hour ago she'd been handing him Morgana's token, which was fluttering away in the wind.

"Are you all right?" Morgana asked, looking at her in concern. There were tears in her eyes.

"Uh, yeah," Adrianna answered. She passed a hand over her face and her palm came away wet. She was crying. She cleared her throat, "I'm fine."

But she wasn't fine. She felt bile rise in her throat.

The Black Knight was standing, intimidating again. He ripped his gauntlet off and threw it at Prince Arthur's feet. "Who will take up my challenge?"

Arthur immediately moved to jump forward but King Uther's hand on his arm stilled his actions.

A coloured Knight who looked angry stepped forward from the crowd. "I, Sir Pellinor, take up the challenge."

"Single combat, dawn tomorrow." The Black Knight slowly made his way toward the gates.

Adrianna looked to Morgana, whose face was shuttered.

* * *

I had been stuck in the kitchens all day, so the sight of Adrianna entering made my stomach lurch. Then I noticed her face. She shook her head slightly, her eyes red with tears. "Sir Pellinor took up the challenge," she related. "Everyone's really upset."

I was wringing my hands, "Well, what was it like? Will Sir Pellinor beat him, then?"

Adrianna shrugged, "I don't know."

Not very long after that, I was dismissed by Tom for the day and we walked back to Gaius' chambers. "Where's Merlin?" I asked.

"Gaius dragged him off somewhere. They looked worried," Adrianna said, pushing the door open. She passed me a book as we settled down at the table and I looked at it distastefully. "What?" she asked, "It not like we have anything better to do."

So I reluctantly opened the book and sighed. I managed to make it past the first three or so pages before I gave up. It was science-y and I didn't understand a lot of it. I watched Adrianna pour through her book. "Do you really think Uther keeps the Mirror in with all of the dangerous magical objects?" I asked.

Adrianna looked up at me. "Not sure," she answered then she snapped the book shut with a thud. "I'm having difficulty concentrating."

* * *

I hated listening to Gaius and Merlin talking. It felt a lot like eavesdropping even though they clearly knew that we were there. It helped that a lot of the time I was busy doing other things but it was difficult when I did have a small amount of spare time. As a result, Adrianna and I spent a lot of time in Merlin's bedroom, doing various chores. I didn't want to intrude more than I already had and I could tell that Adrianna felt the same way.

She was mending one of Morgana's dresses, threading a thick needle through the fabric. For a lack of anything to do, and I knew that it was really bad if I'd resorted to this, I had picked up a piece of Prince Arthur's armour and had started polishing it.

When Merlin came in, looking vaguely exhausted and a little more than worried, he glanced at us, confused. "Thank-you?" he said to me. "You didn't have to."

I shrugged and set the breastplate down. "So what's the story?" I asked, tucking my ankles under me.

Adrianna had looked up from her needle work and adjusted her thimble. "There's no way that Knight is normal," she said to Merlin. "I haven't seen any fights, mind you, but that was ... really scary."

Merlin shook his head and I found that we'd automatically assembled ourselves into the triangle that we'd become accustomed to. Merlin was looking at me and Adrianna followed his gaze. "What?" I asked self-consciously.

"Have you ever heard of Tristan de Bois? You know... from the stories?"

My lips parted, surprised. My initial thought was no, I'd never heard of any Tristan other than the story of Tristan and Isolde, but he looked serious and nervous so I wracked my brains for any sort of side character in the legend that might have gone by the name Tristan de Bois. Finally, I shook my head.

Merlin looked slightly disappointed. "Gaius thinks we're dealing with a Wraith."

I could feel the confused look on my face. Usually, I had at least a vague idea of what was going on but the only type of wraith I'd ever read about were the Ringwraiths invented by J.R.R. Tolkien. Adrianna didn't look like she knew any better than I did.

"Can you, like, back up a bit?" she asked. "The Black Knight's a wraith?"

Merlin nodded. "Tristan de Bois, Ygraine's brother."

_"What?"_ I asked, mind reeling.

"What?" Adrianna echoed less dramatically.

"Arthur's mother, right?" I asked and Merlin nodded, looking slightly disturbed as he usually did when I mentioned the legend. "But... okay, how does that work? _I've_ never heard of Ygraine having a brother."

That wasn't answered.

"Gaius says that she died in childbirth and Tristan blamed Uther, challenging him to single combat." Merlin said, running a hand through his hair and making it stick up on end. Adrianna gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. She'd pieced it together but I was still confused.

"And...?"

"Of course Uther won," Merlin said. "But he cursed Camelot, saying that he'd come back to take his revenge."

"Ah," I said. "So we're dealing with the un-dead, then? Because that's ... not what I thought of when I thought of King Arthur legends," I confessed. Adrianna stared at me with a look that said: Please-God-if-you-don't-shut-up-I-will-hit-you. I closed my mouth.

Merlin looked a little helpless and I saw Adrianna reach out to touch his arm, think better of it, and retract it awkwardly. Merlin was oblivious. "No mortal weapon can kill it," he said, standing and kicking some of the piles of clothes away until he found what he was looking for - a thick, heavy book that had loose pages sticking out. "I think I have some research to do," he said. "It can't be killed by a mortal weapon, but magic? Maybe. Gaius says he won't stop until he's achieved revenge on Uther but there has to be _something._"

Something clunked together noisily in my mind. Of course there was no sword in the stone because Arthur wouldn't need it, but there had to be a sword, right? Some type of Excalibur? I was suddenly glad that I was sitting because I might have needed to had I been standing. I kept my lips firmly shut, unsure and unwilling to change the course of events more than we had already.

* * *

I knew Sir Pellinor would lose. In the legend, he'd always been one of my favourite knights, associated with a young Arthur and the Questing Beast. This too, I thought, must have been some accident, a result of either information being passed wrongly or spiced up to make things more interesting. But everyone had seen Sir Pellinor land a blow, stick his sword through the Black Knight's armour and Tristan de Bois hadn't even flinched.

It had been natural, and I wasn't surprised to hear that Prince Arthur, without leave from his father, had thrown down his own gauntlet and challenged him. I was sure and unsure at the same time. I knew he had to live but it didn't seem like it was probable. Adrianna and I were both tense, feeling like we did when we first ended up here, almost a month past now, with tight muscles and churning stomachs.

Merlin was going out of his mind with worry and it made us jittery too. There was one night to fix this and we still hadn't the slightest idea how. He'd taken it upon himself – "with mortal magic," he'd said, in the absence of a mortal weapon.

When night fell, he turned to us. I was almost asleep with my head in my arms and Adrianna was staring straight ahead without blinking – I think seeing Merlin so anxious had broken her somehow. He sighed and passed a hand over his face. "Stay here," he said and he was out the door before Adrianna had even opened her mouth to protest.

"He does that a lot, doesn't he?" I asked.

"Are you not _worried?"_ she asked, incredulous.

I looked down at my hands, where my nails were bitten down to the quick and bleeding. "No, I am. Definitely am," I assured her. "I'm so worried I don't even know what to do."

"Morgana's worried, too. She's so distant lately and I don't know if it's because of this thing or because her nightmares have gotten worse. I think she used to have Gwen sleep in the antechamber but ... she hasn't asked me. But she's up every morning before I get there and doesn't sleep until after I've left at night." She paused, maybe realizing that she'd gone off on a tangent. "Something will pull through, right?" she asked. "After all, there needs to be a legend, doesn't there?

It said something that Adrianna had become so attached, even the vaguest thoughts of the Mirror gone from her mind as of now. I sighed. "I don't know anything anymore," I answered.

* * *

The flames had failed and Merlin didn't know what to do. If magic couldn't solve this then what could? Could anything? Would Uther die? Arthur couldn't – he couldn't even imagine –

He burst through the door, dramatic, to see Arthur gripping a sword, practicing for the fight tomorrow. "You can't fight him," he said, rushed and slightly out of breath.

Arthur looked at him, rolled his eyes and ignored him. "Didn't we talk about this? You know, about the knocking thing?"

Trying to calm himself down, Merlin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Pull out," he said.

"Why would I do that, Merlin?" Arthur asked, looking annoyed.

"He'll kill you," Merlin answered bluntly.

"_Why_ does everyone think that?"

There's something different, Merlin decided as he answered, "Because it's true." His eyes caught it then. That wasn't Arthur's usual sword. It was shining and polished much better than Merlin could ever do, and it was brand new. "Where did you get the sword from?" he hedged.

Arthur looked up at him for the first time and pressed his lips together. "Guinevere's father gave it to me this morning," he said, now examining it fondly. "He wants me to find her."

Merlin's heart clenched and he lowered his eyes to the sword as well. Even he, who knew very little about swords, thought it was the best he'd ever seen. Completely beautiful.

Then he snapped himself out of it and looked Arthur in the eye again, blue on blue. "Please, Arthur, you're the Crown Prince. No one wants to see you die just for a challenge."

It hit a nerve and Merlin took a step back. "I'm not a coward," Arthur said forcefully.

"I know that!" Merlin argued, "I've watched you overcome obstacle after obstacle over and over again."

"That's my duty," Arthur agreed shortly. Merlin thought that he was rather missing the point.

He sighed, trying to stay calm and stop his hands from shaking. "You've proven your courage," he tried, "Prove your wisdom now –"

"Merlin, I can't listen to this."

"Look!" Merlin said frantically, gesturing violently out the window. "He just stands there! He doesn't even sleep – that is _not_ normal! Doesn't it tell you something?"

"No one is unbeatable."

He was desperate. "You will die –"

For a moment, Merlin was actually afraid; there was something in Arthur's eyes. Arthur had swung his sword so fast that Merlin hadn't even seen it coming, halting it only when it was an inch from his neck. "I'm warning you, Merlin –"

Merlin stepped back unstably and turned on his heel.

He needed something that could kill what was already dead. The very first person he thought of going to was Gaius but he ruled that out quickly. If Gaius could have helped, he'd have done something by now. The second was Geoffrey of Monmouth's library and he was halfway there before he remembered Jenny. She might know, wouldn't she? What if her legends had told of a weapon that was really, really powerful? Merlin almost turned around but he didn't. Even if she did know something, she wouldn't have known where to find it. And he didn't want to waste any time.

* * *

It was very, very late when he rushed back into Gaius' chambers. He burst into his room and Jenny had sat bolt upright, Adrianna groggily beside her. "I know how to beat it," he said. "But we have a problem."

"What?" Jenny asked, alert almost immediately.

"There's a sword, _begotten in the Dragon's breath_, and Arthur has one that will work... I'm not sure if he's keeping it with him or if it's in the armoury."

"Well, is there anything we could do to help?" Jenny asked.

Merlin, frustrated, tugged at his hair. "Go check the armoury? No! You don't even know what it looks like!"

"Couldn't we just use another sword?" Adrianna asked, sounding exasperated.

Merlin shook his head, frowning. "It should be this one. I'm positive."

Jenny sighed audibly and Merlin turned to look at her. "How heavy does the Prince sleep?" she asked, looking at her hands.

He stared at her. "I suppose I will have to sneak in and get it, won't I?"

There was a heavy pause and Adrianna pushed herself to her feet. "Do you want me – one of us – to come with you?"

Distracted, Merlin shook his head and made to turn and leave, needing all the time he could get, but he stopped at the door, his hand resting on the doorframe and turned to Jenny, "Have you ever heard of a sword that could kill what's already dead?" he asked, really asking if this would work. He needed it to work.

Jenny looked up from her hands and stared at him, frowning, her blue eyes bright. She said, "I know that Arthur wielded a sword called Excalibur. It was said that it was placed into his hands by a god, through the enchanter Merlin."

There was a beat and Merlin wasn't sure whether or not he could breathe. Then he managed a smile that felt awkward and nervous, his heart stuttering. Turning on his heel, he left.

* * *

I had to grab Adrianna's arm to stop her from going after him as soon as he was out of the room. "What?" she said angrily. "We're just supposed to sit here and do nothing? I will go _insane_."

"What would you do?" I asked. "What _could_ you do?"

She pursed her lips and sat tentatively on the edge of Merlin's bed. I sank to the floor, side resting against her leg. "Was that true?" she asked.

I nodded. "Merlin arranged the Sword in the Stone," I answered. "Sometimes he placed it in the lake for the Lady of the Lake to hand it to him. The swords are sometimes separated but not always." I paused, "It looks like the legend got some aspect of it right."

"Mhm," Adrianna murmured noncommittally.

She fell asleep a couple hours later, laying the width of Merlin's bed with her legs hanging off the side. It was too stressful to talk and I couldn't sleep. And I couldn't write because I didn't have my notebook. I chewed my nails. At this rate, I wouldn't have any left.

I got up and started pacing but Adrianna stirred at the noise, curling in on herself and I didn't want to wake her. Quietly I left the room, walking past Gaius, who was sleeping fitfully. The halls were quiet and dark and cold. I shivered, silently going toward the courtyard and pulling my hair from my ponytail, making sure it covered my scar. Outside was colder with a breeze. I wasn't sure where I was going but if I didn't start walking, I'd have ended up chewing my hand off.

The guards at the gate were easy to get around and I thought that it wasn't surprising seeing as Merlin was able to sneak us out of the cells with little more than a distraction. I found myself weaving my way through foliage and long grass and avoiding low hanging branches. Once or twice I tripped and fell but the ground was spongy and I didn't hurt myself.

There was a lake when I stopped and I found it ironic. Sitting, I played with the grass between my fingers, thinking. Merlin had said that Avalon was in a lake when I'd asked him. And the sword was supposed to come from the lake.

I started pulling out handfuls of grass. If the legend was an indicator, then the sword would need to soon find itself in a lake with the Lady of the Lake watching over it, guarding it. I wondered, crawling over to it and looking at the water, if that would even happen. It's not like the legend had been a big help to me so far.

The water was clear and crystal and I could see the bottom, all rocks and sand, dark in the night. I lowered myself onto my stomach with my chin not quite touching the water and turned my face to the side. My dress was becoming damp but I found that I didn't care all that much and all I could smell was earth.

I was comfortable, if a little cold. I stared at the water, wanting to brush my fingers across the surface and wondering if it would be cold. But something stopped me. Hesitating again, I reached out and saw my hand reflected in the stillness, like a mirror. There was a cold breeze and my hair whipped my face. It wasn't dramatic when I dipped my fingers in.

For all of three seconds.

There was a beat when I thought - Well, that was dumb of me. Obviously nothing would happen.

But it was almost too still and in the background, there was a steady _drip-drip_ of water hitting water and I looked up, scrambling to my knees.

There was a kind of glow and I think my mind short-circuited a little bit. In front of me, in the direct middle of the lake, stood a woman, her feet gracefully resting on top of the water as if the surface tension alone held her up. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, and she had a round face, soft and caring. A white-blue dress clung to her skin, soaked through with water and dripping, and her blond hair waved down her back in a simple way.

I could tell I was gaping like an idiot and holding my breath.

She opened her eyes and looked down at me, smiling in a wry, affectionate kind of way. "Aren't you a little far from home?" she asked in a way that assured me she knew the answer.

"Are you the Lady of the Lake?" I asked.

She laughed, her voice ringing out like bells, "I am Vivienne."

I stumbled to my feet and I was half incoherent with shock. "Stay here!" I said in a breathy, awed voice, thinking of the sword. "I need to get something but I'll come back. Don't –"

I was cut off when my eyelids started to droop. I was so tired.

"Rest," Vivienne said and it sounded fond, "This is not your part to play."

* * *

Adrianna shook Jenny roughly, with an angry expression on her face and a lack of time. "Get up, you useless –"

"What?" Jenny asked, sitting up violently and knocking her head hard against Adrianna's. She saw stars, falling back onto her heels and holding her forehead, eyes screwed up.

Jenny whimpered in pain and tiredness. "Sorry," she muttered, looking around her. "Um, where are we?"

Where are we? Adrianna thought, _Where are we?!_ "Get up," she said coarsely, yanking on Jenny's arm, "Come _on!"_

"What's going on?" Jenny asked, jogging to keep up as they made their way back to the castle.

Adrianna didn't even know where to start. She was angry and worried and annoyed and if so many feelings didn't stop crowding her brain, she'd surely combust. Spontaneously.

So she said, "We have a problem."

"Oh, no," Jenny moaned. "What, is someone hurt?"

Adrianna picked up her pace and Jenny was panting now, out of breath. "Not yet," she answered. "Uther has the sword. On the way back to replace it, he intercepted Merlin and he took it. He's going to fight in Arthur's place."

There was silence and when Adrianna turned to see Jenny's face, she wore an odd expression. "What? You have nothing to say for once?" Adrianna asked, the annoyed feeling overriding the other feelings for the moment.

"No," Jenny answered, "It's just – well, Arthur's safe, isn't he?"

"Yes," Adrianna agreed, avoiding low hanging branches. "But that stupid dragon said that the sword was to be Arthur's alone."  
"Oh, _right!_" Jenny said and Adrianna got the impression that she was really only waking up now. It sank in a little bit. "Oh. No!"

"Yeah."

* * *

The fight hadn't started yet when they arrived but they could hear the drummer in the distance. They stood facing each other for a moment. "I need to tend to Morgana," Adrianna said. Then she wrinkled her nose at Jenny's dress, which was damp and covered with grass stains and dirt. "Go change," she said. Jenny nodded and made to turn toward Gaius' quarters but Adrianna grabbed her arm. "And I swear, if you _ever_ disappear like that again, I will kill you myself." Her voice was cold and Jenny's eyes widened as she nodded.

They separated, Adrianna taking the stairs as fast as she could to Morgana's rooms, stopping by the kitchens to get breakfast.

"Milady," she said as she entered, placing the tray on the table.

Morgana looked pale and drawn. It was clear that she slept either very fitfully or not at all. "Are you all right?" Adrianna asked stupidly.

Morgana painted on a smile. "If Arthur dies..." she said, turning to the window, not knowing that Uther had stepped into Arthur's place, "I fear for the future."

"He won't," Adrianna said, looking at her shoes as she often did when Morgana spoke to her as if she wasn't her servant. "You'll see."

Morgana stared at her with blue-green eyes and gave her a measured look, breaking off any friendly advances. Probably, Adrianna thought later, remembering that Adrianna wasn't Gwen.

"Yes," she finally replied absently.

* * *

I stripped my dress off as quickly as I could and pulled my one other dress over my head quickly, making sure I was decent. Now, _where_ was Merlin?

Quickly, I flung the door to Merlin's room open and there was a dull thud followed by an "Ow..."

Merlin, on the other side, was rubbing his forehead and he glared at me, one hand still poised to grasp the handle. I thought it wasn't a very good day for foreheads, remembering bumping mine with Adrianna's.

"What are you going to do?" I asked immediately.

"What can I do?" Merlin answered. "He's the King. If I tell him the truth, I won't have a head anymore. And I like my head."

I almost smiled at his ability to joke at a time like this. Almost. "Well, where's Arthur?" I asked impatiently instead as Merlin rustled around his room, looking for something.

Merlin pressed his lips together. "Gaius drugged him by Uther's orders. He's probably still sleeping."

"No!" I cried out. "This is going all wrong. Do all of your plans end up this way?"

Merlin sighed. "Sometimes. It's not like life goes according to plan, you know."

I ignored this. "What if we wake him up? If we wake him up, he could go and get the sword and fight as he was supposed to!"

"That's what I'm trying to do!" Merlin said. "But his door's locked and I can't find my damn book."

I stared at him, exasperated, and moved a pile of clothes next to my left foot, "This one?"

Looking down, Merlin smiled sheepishly at me. He rifled through it and jabbed his finger at the page that I assumed had a spell to unlock doors.

"How long do we have?"

"Maybe twenty minutes?" Merlin answered as we hurried through the halls, avoiding servants who were moving around.

Just as we were rounding a corner, someone called Merlin's name. It was a boy, older than me, whose name I didn't know. "The King requests your presence. You're to attend to him before the fight in the armoury."

We looked at each other helplessly and Merlin's eyes fluttered shut. He looked like he was thinking something along the lines of, _Well, I tried._

I watched them until they were out of sight and then I was running, skidding to a stop in front of Prince Arthur's door. I knocked and there was no answer. I knocked harder.

I heard shuffling on the other side and the muffled groans of having knocked painfully into something. The door knob rattled. And again, harder, when Arthur realised it was locked. "Who's there?" he asked in a commanding voice, probably guessing what had happened instantly.

"Sire," I gasped. "It's me." Then I actually almost hit myself and amended, "It's Jenny. I work in the kitchens."

Arthur rattled the door knob again angrily and the door shook. "Well, get me out of here!" he demanded, his voice frantic.

"I don't have a key!" I called back, hands resting against the door. "Your father is fighting in your place."

Arthur swore violently on the other side, pounding a fist against the door. Shocked, I stepped back. "Find a damn key, then!" he said.

"Where?" I asked desperately.

"Go find Merlin!" he said, his voice more distant. I pictured him looking out the window, seeing King Uther stepping into the square, knowing it was supposed to be him.

I nodded and then remembered he couldn't see me and said, "Okay!" feeling monumentally stupid. Then I took off running.

I tripped twice on the way there and bashed into a female servant, the one I'd hit with the kitchen door that one time (May?), throwing a quick apology over my shoulder. I slowed as I approached the stands, hearing the buzz of the crowd and the clash of metal against metal. I drew level with Merlin who was standing with Gaius off to the side. But as I opened my mouth to ask him where the keys were, I saw it was too late for anything like that. King Uther stood in the middle with the Black Knight and the sword was lying some ten feet away, motionless on the cobblestone.

Uther was defending himself with his shield in vain, avoiding the Knight's sword. The Knight lunged forward but in a display of quick reflexes, Uther evaded, his shield taking the brunt of the attack. Tristan's sword was stuck. He pulled blindly but Uther was quicker, hitting him around the head. His helmet fell to the ground to reveal shrivelled and blackened skin. I flinched and Merlin and I looked at each other in shock. I had to force down the nausea triggered by something so revolting.

Recovering, Uther drove his sword through the Black Knight's breastplate and muttering something angry that we couldn't hear. In a violent explosion of dust, the Tristan de Bois burned and his empty armour fell to the ground in a heap.

Adrianna met my eyes across the crowd, her face the picture of horrified amazement. I could imagine a similar expression on mine. She was following the Lady Morgana who was wearing a relieved expression and not talking. The crowd eventually dispersed and Gaius disappeared to tend to King Uther's injuries.

I glanced over at Merlin. "What are you going to do about the sword?" It was a little calmer now that the immediate threat of the King's and the Prince's death had passed.

Merlin sighed and we began walking toward the gates of the castle. "I don't know," he said and then he muttered something I didn't catch exactly but sounded like "... talk to the dragon..."

I nodded and thought back to the lake. I hadn't allowed myself to think of it until now because it had been too much. Had I dreamed the entire thing? Probably. With the whole business of the sword and the drama, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if my mind conjured an image of the Lady of the Lake. Merlin and I separated there and I slowly made my way to the kitchens. As I entered the serving girl, May, glared at me and I gave her an apologetic look.

"What did you do to her?" George asked as I stood by him and wordlessly started organising his pile of dishes.

I blushed and ducked my head. "I accidentally knocked her down a couple of stairs."

"One day," he said, looking disbelieving and amused all at once, "You're going to accidentally kill someone."

* * *

It was the end of the day and it had an ending but unfinished feel to it. I didn't like it. Adrianna, quiet, and I were heading back to our temporary home. Merlin and Gaius were seated at the table, smiling. Adrianna on reflex smiled as well. There were two bowls clearly meant for us sitting in front of the two empty spots. "Thanks," I said, sitting and Gaius smiled at me, clearly in a pleasant mood. Adrianna nodded as well, sitting down and beginning to eat as if she hadn't seen food in days.

Feeling content, I brought the spoon to my lips.

When everyone was finished, Gaius had gone back to his work and Merlin had pushed his chair back and stood, nodding toward the door at me and Adrianna. We followed him.

"Where are we going?" Adrianna asked.

Merlin didn't directly answer her question because he never did. "Tomorrow, at dawn, I'm going to throw the Sword in the lake," he said.

I paused, "The one you said held Avalon?"

He nodded and I swallowed, my throat dry.

"We're coming with you, right?" Adrianna asked.

Merlin stared at her and then glanced at me, meeting two determined expressions. He laughed, "Would you follow me anyway?"

I was about to say no, of course not, we'd respect your boundaries, but Adrianna jumped in. "Yes," she said, smiling fondly and a little mockingly at him. Almost like Lyssa used to smile at me. Small bits of jealousy found themselves at home in my stomach.

I slept fitfully that night, dreaming of the lake. This time I was sure they were dreams. When I was woken by Merlin lighting the candles in his room, I shivered and sat up, wondering if the lake I had visited was indeed the lake that Avalon resided in. I shook Adrianna and she groggily sat up, rubbing the heel of her palm against her eyes.

* * *

The mist was menacing Adrianna decided as they picked their way through the tall grass and avoided the holes in the ground. She recognized the route immediately as the one that she took to find Jenny when she disappeared, the idiot. The ground was spongy and damp in the morning, Adrianna's shoes sinking in and getting dirty. And it was quiet, no one really having anything to say. Jenny wore an odd expression on her face, obviously recognising instantly where we were and what was going on.

She'd told her last night that the sword was supposed to end up in a lake. It was supposed to be handed to Arthur from there. She figured that, since there was no sword in the stone, this was fitting.

They drew level with the lake, Merlin's feet at the edge of the water, staring down. It was calm and clear and sparkling. He unwrapped the sword from its red cloth. It looked heavy, shining and gold. There were words written on it but Adrianna couldn't make them out. Her heart beat a tattoo against her sternum.

Jenny stepped forward. "Merlin, there's –" she broke off. "Call out. You need to."

"What?" he asked. "I was just going to throw it in. There's Avalon, so..."

Jenny shook her head, smiling. "There's the Lady of the Lake, too. Call for Vivienne."

Adrianna was gaping, she knew. "What are you talking about?" she asked Jenny, who just shook her head, which was _very_ helpful.

Merlin hesitated, glancing back at them and took a deep breath. He called out.

The effect was immediate but not as dramatic as Adrianna would have thought. Gracefully, a girl rose from the water and unfolded herself, dripping and wet and smiling and glowing slightly. Her feet were resting on its surface. She was the most beautiful person Adrianna had ever seen and a warm feeling of comfort spread over her, the swirling mist forgotten.

"I am Vivienne," the girl said, stepping lightly toward them – no, toward Merlin. She didn't as much as glance at them.

Merlin stared in what looked like amazement.

"You have something for me?" Vivienne said, now standing in front of him, close enough to touch if she reached out. Adrianna almost felt as though she was intruding on a private moment but she was unable to look away.

Merlin held out the sword and she took it, their hands brushing. "It was made for Prince Arthur of Camelot."

"Yes," Vivienne said closing her eyes, lashes resting dark against her cheek. "It holds great power of the Old Religion. I can feel it."

Merlin looked uncertain when she didn't step back.

"Ask," Vivienne allowed.

"Who are you?"

Vivienne smiled, her whole face lighting up. "I am Vivienne of the Lake. I am the overseer of Birth and but one half of the guardian of Time. Avalon resides in my Lake because I watch over it."

"Isn't Avalon the place for – that you see before you die, though?" Merlin asked, still mesmerised.

Vivienne tilted her head innocently. "It is. It is also a place of Life. This is, like me, only half of what there is. Everything comes with another side." She didn't expand on that thought.

Adrianna glanced at Jenny whose face was radiant with happiness, as if she were running over all the knowledge she had on Avalon.

"What is the other side?" Merlin asked after a pause.

Vivienne smiled but didn't answer. Finally, she stepped back and turned, the sword gently resting on top of her hands.

"Wait!" Adrianna found herself calling out, stumbling forward. "Please."

Vivienne turned, looking expectant, her expression still kind. "Yes?"

"If you're a guardian of time, then what do you know about the Mirror that brought us here?" she asked in a gasp.

Vivienne wasn't smiling anymore and she took a step forward, staring at both Jenny and Adrianna. She felt as though someone were scanning right though her. "Nothing. The Mirror, any magical object that deals with time, I know nothing of. I wish to know nothing of. That is for my other half."

"Can you tell me?" Adrianna begged, "Please, tell me where to find her."

Vivienne searched her face for a moment. "Ninniane is not to be taken lightly," she finally said. "She is the watcher of death and the mortal side of Time."

"Where is she?" Adrianna asked, feeling Merlin's eyes on her.

Her voice measured and beautiful, she said, "Ninniane is the other half of my coin. She guards the other half of Avalon, called the Isle of the Blessed and resides in a cave made of crystal."

Merlin spoke up. "She'll tell us where the Mirror is?"

Vivienne glanced at him mournfully. "She'll not do this without a price," she said, eyes moving from him to Adrianna to Jenny, resting on her for a moment, where she hung back behind Adrianna. She had the urge to glance at her but resisted.

"What will she ask? I'll pay anything." Adrianna said desperately.

Almost amused, Vivienne paused. "Bring her the Crystal of Neahtid. She's long desired it. Where you'll find this, forgive me, I do not know. It's not my place."

There was finality in her tone and Adrianna stepped back. "Thank-you," she said.

Vivienne graced her with a smile and turned to Jenny, a fond look in her eyes, a knowing expression.

"I will keep this safe until the time comes when he must use it, when he will need it," she said to Merlin, a secret in her tone.

He nodded, unsmiling with wonder.

Watching her sink back into the water, the sword that was most likely what Adrianna knew as Excalibur resting in her open palms, was chilling and she shuttered. Vivienne's eyes were closed, her face at ease, her lips upturned in a slight smile.

The sun was rising as the lake settled, casting small rainbows in the swirling mist. Merlin turned around with a slight dazed expression on his face and grinned blindingly at them. "That went a lot better than I thought," he said.

Adrianna nodded. "Finding the Crystal of Neahtid, then?" she asked, the name already memorised. They headed back to Camelot, Jenny trailing behind them, almost silent.

_

* * *

_

_Note:_

Okay, so you may have noticed that the Crystal of Neahtid is an object from The Witch's Quickening, episode 11 of S2. I've decided that I'm combining aspects of both. Jenny and Adrianna being there is bound to change things - make them faster or slower. If you have any questions about some of the things in this chapter, definitely ask and I'll do my best to answer. But for now, thanks for reading and please review!


	11. The Cave of Crystal

_Author's Note_:

klifdsulhkvcnkxgreiug --- The sounds of a dying author.

That might seem a little overdramatic... well, yeah, I guess it is :P Anyway, this is chapter 11 :D (which is, I know a bit late in the coming, isn't it?) I know I've mentioned this is my profile all ready but I doubt that anyone looks there regularly so I'll say it again. There will be no regular updates until May when I am out of school. After that, I'll probably shower you in update but until then I've got like three hands full with exams (Chemistry might just kill me, you guys).

I also realized I completely forgot to do some housekeeping last update and so I'll do that now. Thank-you to all who reviewed chapter 9! Because I didn't thank you in chapter 10 and then felt really bad about it. So thanks to **GoldenAura**, **merlin's magi**, **Setari**, **Hee7**, and **Togo65 ** for reviewing -love- You all make my life.

ALSO: Thanks to **Wren Hightower** who beta-ed the last two chapters. I work her to the ground, really ...

_Warnings_: AU after S1 Episode 9, Spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White  
_Disclaimer_: I don't own anything. ANYTHING. :) ... well, I do own Adrianna, Jenny, Lyssa, Brittany and any other OC that isn't recognizable from the show :) And, I forgot to mention this before but Wren Hightower owns Michelle from chapter 9. :D

Now: Please read, review, and enjoy! (And a note on the title at the bottom)

* * *

**-- Chapter 11: The Cave of Crystal --**

My day _did not_ start out completely, totally, perfectly normal. Why? Because my day started before I'd even gone to bed. Adrianna had had a wonderful idea. Except, I thought, looking at a very angry Arthur who was brooding over by the fire, the idea wasn't so wonderful after all. Merlin shot me an apologetic look and I sighed, mentally trying to ward off my growing headache.

* * *

"We could ask Gaius, couldn't we?"

"Yes. Let's go now. We could just walk right up to him. _Hi, Gaius. How was your day? You don't happen to know anything about the very powerful, magical object called the Crystal of Neahtid, do you?_"

Adrianna glared at him. "You know that's not what I meant."

Merlin rolled his eyes, "He'd know something was up. He _always_ knows!"

They were doing it again, I thought. I stood scrubbing dishes in the kitchens and Adrianna and Merlin were standing off to the side arguing in whispers. I sighed, brushing my bangs away from my forehead.

"Why are they always together if they hate each other?" a voice asked beside me. I looked up to see George who was following my gaze. As he got ready to take over the dish station, I dried my hands off.

"Oh, they don't," I answered, surprised that I actually knew the answer. "Don't all friends yell at each other?"  
He looked at me with a strange expression. "Like that?" he asked.

I nodded and George raised his eyebrows.

"Not unless there's some serious _tension_…" he answered.

I looked at him blankly and he blushed slightly. "You know, _sexual _tension."

"Oh!" I blanched; _that_ was a disturbing thought.

Adrianna was glaring. Not at anyone in particular – she was just shooting dark looks at the general public. In fact, she was fairly certain she frightened that one maid who Jenny always seemed to knock over. May, did Jenny call her?

She was carrying a very heavy basket of laundry up several flights of stairs. Did anyone offer to help her? No. Why would they do that? she thought, struggling. That, even though her fingers felt like they might fall off soon, was the _least_ of her worries. It had been a whole week since the incident in the forest with the Lady of the Lake, Vivienne, and they were absolutely no further toward the short term goal of finding the Crystal of Neahtid. They didn't even know where to look. This, of course, meant that Ninniane wasn't in sight either. And the Mirror was even further.

She knocked lightly on Morgana's door when she finally made it up the last few stairs. When there was no answer and she had to dig her key out of the pocket of her dress, she was almost ready to just chuck the laundry down the stairs. At last she got the door open and dragged the basket inside by its handle. As she set about hanging the dresses and other beautiful things Morgana got to wear in her wardrobe, she wondered where Morgana was.

She'd been more and more distant lately. It wasn't as if they were anywhere near close before but Adrianna thought that Morgana was making a really good effort to talk to her and to teach her. But now it was like Morgana almost went out of her way to avoid her. It worried Adrianna because maybe, and she'd been thinking about this ever since they'd had the conversation about her hands, Morgana knew more than she was letting on.

She finished with the clothes and sighed, hands on her hips. What now? Should she just go down and help the kitchens? God only knew how they had so many staff and still needed help all the time. It was ridiculous.

* * *

The kitchens were noisy and Adrianna fought the childish impulse to cover her ears. She wandered over to George. "Hey. Is Jenny around?"

He smirked at her and Adrianna stared at him suspiciously. "She's running," he answered. "But you could take her next tray, if you have free time. It's been waiting for someone to take it."

Sighing, Adrianna took the tray from a servant she didn't know the name of and left the kitchens, thinking to herself that maybe George was a bit of a creeper.

On the way back down the stairs, she caught up with Jenny. "How is it fair that you get so much free time?" Jenny asked, carrying two trays. It was the maximum Tom let her hold and Adrianna privately agreed that this was a good idea.

"Morgana doesn't like me," Adrianna answered, turning around and falling into step with her.

Jenny rolled her eyes muttering something that sounded like, "Wanna trade?"

"I'm asking Gaius tonight," Adrianna declared. She'd been thinking about it and they weren't going to get anywhere if they never asked, right? And who better to trust than Gaius? She really didn't understand why Merlin was hesitating.

"Merlin will be angry with you," Jenny said, biting her lip.

Scoffing slightly, Adrianna looked at the floor. "Well, it's not like we have another choice, do we?"

Jenny was hesitating and Adrianna could _feel_ the awkwardness rolling off her. Her face flushed and she was still worrying her bottom lip. In a rush she asked, "Do you like him?"

Blinking in surprise, Adrianna paused, "Well, we're stuck with him. It'd be hard if I didn't like him, right?"

Jenny was still blushing and stuttering. "But do you _like_ like him?" she insisted.

"Oh," Adrianna said because she didn't know what to say. "No?"

Looking relieved and still a little pink, Jenny sighed, "Oh, _good._ That would have been really _weird!_" Then she turned in the opposite direction and made her way to the room she was supposed to be running to.

Staring at her in slight shock, Adrianna thought, it's like a flashback to primary school. _Do you _like _like him?_ She didn't think she'd heard that phrase since she was about twelve. Then again, she thought, Jenny could sometimes be comparable to a twelve-year-old. She wondered if this had to do with a lack of people to discuss these sorts of things with. She definitely couldn't see it with Lyssa. Now _that_ would have been weird.

* * *

Merlin wasn't really having a good day. Mondays were always really hard. Mainly because Mondays were the day of the week that Arthur liked to take him out to the training field, dress him up in shoddy armour, and beat him round the head with a sword till all he could hear was clanging.

That was sometime after lunch, he'd dragged himself back to Gaius' and fumbled out of the heavy armour that somehow seemed determined to stay buckled. Eventually he managed to untangle his limbs with no help from Gaius, who had just sat there and watched him with a vaguely amused expression on his face. All Merlin could manage was, "Oh, be quiet," in a way that was very non-threatening and lacked any heat.

It didn't help that whenever he went into the kitchen there were certain servants who looked at him funny. Well, not funny, just not normally, like they usually would. Instead he found himself getting a lot of smirks and some looks that looked almost congratulatory. It was unnerving because he had absolutely no idea what he'd managed to do right.

"Here for Prince Arthur's lunch?" a petite brown-haired girl asked.

He nodded warily. Somehow, after being in Camelot for nearly a year, he'd still not managed to learn half the names he was supposed to. Also, she was staring at him knowingly but in a way that suggested something good? … But what (other than the fact that he was a secret sorcerer harbouring two girls from the future, and that certainly was not good) could she possibly know that the general public didn't know? So, instead of asking her why everyone was looking at him strangely, because that thought made him rather nervous, he said, "Um, yeah."

Taking the tray from her, he turned to leave. He made his way up to Arthur's chambers and opened the door, unsurprised to see that there was clutter that needed to be cleaned. Arthur was sitting at the table when Merlin set the tray down. Then he noticed Arthur was looking at him strangely. "I know, I know, _knocking_. Right," he said, unsure of what else it could be. Because it wasn't the same look everyone else was giving him. It was almost like he was impressed and very, very surprised by it.

Merlin squirmed under his gaze for a minute before straightening his back to his full height almost involuntarily and then pointedly starting to collect the laundry that had somehow piled up on the floor.

"_Mer_lin," Arthur said and Merlin could hear the smile in his voice. Of course, when he turned around, mildly exasperated at this point, he couldn't see it on his face but it was there somewhere under the smirk.

"_Sire,_" he mocked in the same tone and then, because _really_, "Why does everyone keep looking at me like that?"

Arthur smirked, "I overheard some of the servants gossiping. We didn't know you had it in you. Everyone thought you were in love with Guinevere." Arthur paused for a moment, "You have a thing for Morgana's maids, don't you?"

Merlin blinked… What? "Oh, well …you know me. Full of surprises," he smiled.

"Though, why in the world she's with you, Merlin, is a mystery when clearly –"

_What?_ What in the world was Arthur talking about? "Uh… yeah," he answered and Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have any idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Yes, I do. You're talking about – No I have no idea," he said, grinning as he took a seat opposite Arthur at the table. Arthur raised his eyebrows at the gesture but didn't say anything.

"The castle seems to think you're seeing Morgana's new maid, what's-her-name. Clearly whoever started the rumour hasn't seen her in comparison to _you_," Arthur went on absently.

"Thank-you," Merlin quipped right back, rolling his eyes. "And the gossip's really getting bad if stupid things like that have reached _you_."

"Yes," Arthur agreed, sipping at his wine. "Or maybe you should just start paying attention."

* * *

Adrianna sighed as she opened the door to Gaius' chambers. She wanted sleep and she found herself longing for her own bed at home. The floor was making her back hurt and Jenny needed to be kicked. Adrianna swore she'd do it herself if the stupid girl started snuggling her again tonight. She almost didn't have the energy to confront anyone about anything to do with the Crystal but she was nothing if not determined. She wanted to go home and she wanted to go now. Unfortunately, she'd probably have to settle for soon; sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.

"You look like death warmed over," Jenny said absently as she sank down at the table, nodding toward Gaius.

"Thanks," she responded. "Morgana has me doing about seven thousand things a day so even if she dismisses me early, I still have a heap of things to do."

Gaius turned. "That doesn't sound like her," he said after a minute.

Adrianna bit her lip and looked down at the table, pausing. Finally she said, "She misses Gwen."

The door opened then and Merlin entered his arms full of armour, scowling. Automatically, Adrianna jumped up to take half and they piled it in the corner of the room. "Have fun with that," she said, smirking a bit, feeling better about the laundry she needed to do later.

Merlin looked at her for a minute all blue-eyed and she noticed a small blush spread across his cheeks. "God," she said after a minute, "What is wrong with everyone today?" And then she stomped out of the room, intent on a long walk.

* * *

Gaius and Jenny looked over at him, Gaius with raised eyebrows and Jenny with a confused smile and Merlin ran a hand through his hair. "What _is_ wrong with everyone?" he asked, agreeing with Adrianna. The world had clearly gone insane.

* * *

When Adrianna got back from wherever she had been, I smiled at her hesitantly. "We saved you some dinner…"

"Hmm…" Adrianna responded enthusiastically.

There was a silence when she sat down at the table where I had my head resting in my palm and Merlin was polishing Arthur's armour. Gaius was working in the background on something.

Adrianna sat up straight, looked me in the eye and sighed. Sounding almost bored, she asked, "Gaius, what do you know about the Crystal of Neahtid?"

Merlin fumbled and dropped the metal armour he was holding with a clang. "Adrianna!" he hissed.

And I thought, Oh no. Here we go.

Gaius turned around with an eyebrow raised. "The Crystal of Neahtid?" he repeated. "How do you even know of such a thing?"

Adrianna shrugged and Merlin buried his face in his hands. I sighed, "We need it. Adrianna and I – we need it. To get home."

Gaius looked at me in the way he does that makes you feel like you've just had an X-ray. "It's locked away, beneath the castle," he said finally.

"Damn," I heard Adrianna hiss.

I sighed again, "Well, what does it do? She – the person who mentioned it – said that, well, it was actually really confusing…"

Gaius turned back to his work, carefully not facing us. I could hear what almost felt like scepticism in his voice. "There are many legends," he said finally. "Some believe that the crystal holds the secret of time itself." He looked like he was on the verge of saying something more but decided against it. The topic fell heavily against the floor as Merlin hastily changed the subject.

* * *

"Great, _perfect_," Adrianna said. I was getting better at telling when she was being sarcastic. "Why does life insist on being difficult?"

We were sitting in Merlin's bedroom. I was sitting comfortably on the floor, the spare blanket wrapped around my shoulders and Adrianna was wearing a hole into the floorboards again. Merlin looked at her with an expression that said, Really? Try living my life. I had to agree with him. His luck, if concentrated enough, could cause some serious problems. "Well," he said, "We have to find a way to get the crystal then, don't we?"

I gaped. "We're still going after it? This can only end badly."

Adrianna stopped her flurry of movement for a minute. "Seriously?" and her expression was one of delight – the same expression I felt on my face when my mum had given me _The Crystal Cave_ by Mary Stewart for Christmas last year. Yes, I thought, this will end badly.

Merlin winced. "Do we really have another choice?"

Adrianna shook her head. "But we don't even know anything about it," she said. "Yes it 'holds the secret of time itself' –" there were air-quotes here, " – but could it be dangerous? Is there a good reason that Uther has it locked up?"

Merlin shrugged and changed the subject. "You know you've put Gaius on guard now, right? He's just going to be waiting for us to do something stupid."

I blinked and spoke without thinking, "Don't we do that all the time?"

They looked at me and I felt myself flush and then Adrianna broke out into a grin. "_Yes!_" she agreed a little too loudly but Merlin was grinning and his emotions seemed to be contagious sometimes.

"Okay," Adrianna said bossily and dropped down to sit beside me, tugging half the blanket away, "We need a plan."

* * *

The only resolution I could foresee coming from this ended in my head being detached from my body.

For some ungodly reason, we'd all agreed that it should be me and Merlin to go steal the crystal. I'm not sure how this happened. Merlin was a given, because he'd stolen the keys from Arthur's chambers (which I'd just realized was where he got the keys to release me and Adrianna from our brief stay in the cells) but why I was coming along was a very good question, especially since I was prone to loud accidents.

Adrianna had almost convinced Merlin that he should go to ask the dragon ("overgrown lizard" – Adrianna's words not mine. I think she was having coping issues again) about the crystal but we'd all decided against it. After all, we didn't want to use it. We just needed to take it to Ninniane and then get our information. So, Merlin and I were standing in a very cold corridor, in the dark, and I was watching him struggle to fit the key in the lock.

"Won't the bells sound?" I hissed, looking around me.

He paused, considering, "I suppose that would be a very bad thing, wouldn't it?"

I nodded and I stood there for a moment. "Have you played your part then?"

"You mean found a way to tell Arthur secretly that the sorceresses, aka you and Adrianna, are hiding out near the Isle of the Blessed?"

I nodded again.

"Yeah," he said and the door finally swung open. "He said that we leave in the morning."

I was grateful – if the sorceresses could be blamed for taking the crystal, then it would give Arthur and Merlin even more of a reason to go to the Isle of the Blessed. And Adrianna and I would follow. Of course, that was the extent of our planning – sometimes I thought that our sheer stupidity would end in something very disastrous. Namely, death.

Still, I couldn't keep the disbelief out of my voice. "How did you convince him that you were innocent in all this? How in the _world_ have you not been discovered yet?" I asked half in awe and half in exasperation.

Merlin smirked and it was very … Merlin-ish. "Very carefully," he answered. I stuck my tongue out at him.

We crept forward, my servant slippers and Merlin's boots making soft slapping noises against the stone floor. The crystal was sitting on a very dusty pillow and looking less magnificent than I pictured. "So are we –" I cut off when I noticed Merlin was very silent next to me. His eyes were fixed on the crystal. He looked – I don't even know. Scared?

I wished I was better with other people's emotions as I reached out to lightly touch his shoulder, "Merlin -?"

He snapped out of it, his head whipping around to face me. "What? – You take it. Go on."

Uncertainly, still hesitant of his reaction, I took the pouch that we'd brought and picked up the crystal with my left hand. It was heavy and warm, not what I expected. I blew the dust off gently before I slipped it into the bag and pulled the drawstrings shut.

"We should go," he said, moving quickly toward the gate door. "If we're caught –"

I nodded, holding the crystal to my chest as I tried to keep up with him. "Are you all right?" I asked when we were making our way down a hallway far enough away from the vaults.

Merlin opened his mouth to answer when the bells started ringing. They knew that the crystal was gone.

* * *

Merlin and Jenny burst through the door all out of breath and flushed, Jenny clutching a heavy bag in her arms. "What took you so long?" Adrianna demanded. "I could hear the bells from here – I thought you'd been caught!"

Jenny rolled her eyes, shoving the bag into Adrianna's arms. "Here," she said.

Merlin was quiet, which was odd. "What?" she asked bluntly.

"Nothing," he answered, looking completely innocent. Adrianna thought that for someone who was such a bad liar, really, he was very good at lying.

That night, when Adrianna woke up with Jenny hogging both blankets and pressed against her side, and she heard Merlin slide out of bed, the bedroom door closing quietly, she didn't follow.

* * *

"This is a bad idea. This is a very, very bad idea. This is –"

"Will you _shut up_, Jenny? Could I have, like, five minutes –"

Jenny fell silent with a glare and Adrianna took a very deep breath. They were all stressed and she didn't need Jenny constantly voicing it because it was extremely annoying.

The blessed silence lasted for only a few moments.

"But Adrianna," Jenny asked in a very whiney voice as they headed toward the stables, "I'm afraid of horses!"

"Oh, for the love of – Are you serious?"

Jenny nodded, biting her lip.

"So you can't ride?"

"Well, we're not all athletic like you," she huffed defiantly.

Adrianna's lips twisted into a smirk. "You'll just have to learn then, won't you?"

Merlin and Arthur had gone ahead obviously, and Jenny and Adrianna were to follow behind without letting Arthur know. How this plan was going to ever work – why she ever suggested the stupid idea in the first place – _so_ many things could go wrong. Why did Arthur have to come anyway? she thought angrily. He was completely ignorant of the situation, under the belief that the 'sorceresses' (aka her and Jenny) had taken the crystal from the vaults the previous night. And of course, Merlin had already told him that they apparently resided at the Isle of the Blessed.

Jenny was right. This could only end in complete disaster.

Merlin said Arthur had to come because otherwise, how could he sneak away? Secretly Adrianna thought that he wanted Arthur to know. He hated keeping secrets from him and he already had so many… _What were they going to do if they were caught?!_ They would be dragged back to Camelot and tossed in the cells again to await burning. Because that was _always_ Adrianna's life's ambition, to be accused of sorcery and burned as a witch without a trial.

In Ancient History class, she'd always thought it was a little funny that the middle ages had been so backward – she'd laughed hysterically throughout Monty Python and the Holy Grail, after all. It was the only introduction she'd had to Arthurian Legend previous to this adventure.

Well, she thought darkly, she didn't find it funny anymore.

She was readying the horse as she was thinking and Jenny was cowering in the corner of the stables as far from the animals as possible. The stable boy (whose name she thought might be … Ralf…? Not that she would have bet anything on that, of course) was giving them odd looks. She wasn't sure if he was restraining himself from intervening because Adrianna actually knew what she was doing or because Adrianna was Morgana's maidservant and technically of a higher station. Also, she wasn't sure which she'd rather it be: apparently very important and intimidating or apparently competent.

"Come on," she said nicely to Jenny, who was giving the horse (who was named Anna, Ralf had told her) shifty looks. "Okay, you need to just get her used to you, all right? So…" and she trailed off lifting Jenny's wrist and holding it out in front of Anna's nose. Then she said, "You should probably blow on her."

"What?" Jenny stared.

"She can tell you're scared," Adrianna explained, remembering the one very disastrous time she took Brittany riding with her. "Just blow in her nose so she knows your scent."

Looking at her dubiously, Jenny blew softly and Anna shifted again.

Adrianna sighed, wondering if she just should have accepted Ralf's help instead of telling him to go away but she couldn't really afford the questions.

"All right-y," Adrianna said, stepping back and biting her lip. "You definitely need to be in the front."

Jenny looked extremely sceptical. "I thought the person in the front was the one who steered…"

Adrianna grimaced; this was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Once they actually convinced Anna the horse to move, they weren't so bad off. At this rate, they'd catch up to Merlin and Arthur by dusk. Also, hopefully, Arthur wasn't in too much of a rush… because as far as they could tell from the map (and that wasn't a whole lot – Geography was given up as soon as possible for the both of them), the Isle of the Blessed wasn't _more_ than a day's ride… if one was taking their time.

Once they actually caught up with the two, it was another story entirely.

Because Adrianna was nervous and she did stupid things when she was nervous, she couldn't stop talking. Even when she realized she couldn't stop talking she still couldn't stop talking.

"-I didn't really get the chance to ride a lot," she was saying, "but I really love horses. They're just so pretty, you know?"

"Uh, yeah." Jenny answered. "I clearly never have before," she said and Adrianna could hear the tentative smile in her voice. "I used to like to write … but I guess you already knew that."

"Oh. Yeah." Adrianna said. "Um, used to? Why used to?"

"Oh," Jenny said, still clearly smiling in her voice. "I don't have any paper here."

"Oh." Arianna said again, feeling repetitive. "Right."

And then there was silence except for the clopping of the horse and the wind.

The sun set steadily and when Adrianna was sure they were nearing the two boys, she slowed their pace.

"Do you think we're almost there?" Jenny whispered in a way that was whiney.

"You don't have to whisper," Adrianna responded, slightly annoyed. "It's not like we're there yet."

"But – it's creepy." Jenny said, shivering a bit. "And I wish we dressed warmer."

Adrianna rolled her eyes and there was another lull in their conversation.

Then – "Do you hear something?" Jenny asked.

Adrianna was about to say, um, no? What are you talking about? But then she heard it too: quiet shuffling and voices. Unnecessarily she said, "Shhh! Shut up, Jenny!"

"But I wasn't -!" Jenny started protesting but Adrianna clamped her fingers over her mouth.

"Do you want to get caught, you idiot?" she hissed, bringing Anna to a stop and getting herself to the ground. She managed to help Jenny off without too much of a fuss. "We must be close. I can't imagine anyone else being around here. Can you see them?" she asked in a whisper.

Jenny shook her head. "It's too dark."

Adrianna strained her ears but she could only make out muffled voices and more shuffling. Quietly, she led the horse and Jenny forward, looking for signs of a fire. She was thankful a moment later that they'd had the foresight to use the cover of the forest and the trees to avoid being seen.

" – _Mer_lin. How hard is it to start a fire, honestly?"

"I don't know, _Sire_. Did you want to try?"

Her arm shot out to stop Jenny from accidently wandering right into their camp and she mouthed "Be quiet!". As if any instruction had been less necessary.

* * *

Adrianna and I managed to slink away quietly enough, keeping their fire within sight. And then we huddled because it was cold and we had nothing to do but watch the fire. "We didn't come very prepared, did we?" I asked.

But Adrianna was completely distracted, her eyes on the small light in the distance. If I squinted, I could just make out the figures of Arthur and Merlin – Merlin being the one tending to the fire, of course. If I let myself think about it too much, that Arthur was so close, my stomach got all fluttery. Best not too, I told myself. I didn't really like the feeling.

"Don't you think their friendship is weird?" Adrianna asked suddenly, gaze glued to Merlin and Arthur.

I had no idea what she meant. "Uh, no?"

"I mean, it's not normal, is it? Is it normal for two men to be so close? … Do you think they're gay?"

I stared at her for a moment before I burst out laughing. I had to hold my stomach; it felt like it was going to split at the seam.

Adrianna looked affronted. "What?" she demanded. "Why is that funny?"

"They're not _gay_," I said, smiling. "You think that because they're close?"

She huffed, looking embarrassed. Sometimes I thought Adrianna might not mean everything she said, just that she lacked a filter between her brain and her mouth. "Well, I just meant … oh, never mind." And she huffed, got up and started piling nearby sticks and twigs into a tepee shape characteristic of campfires.

"Do you even know how to build a fire?" I asked.

"I've been camping!" she snarled back, still uncomfortable.

I paused, smiling a little bit. Usually it wasn't me who got to teach these lessons. "Even in the legend, when Merlin was, you know, a ton older than Arthur, he gave everything for him. His whole life revolved around him, when he figured out that's what he was destined to do. In some versions they're cousins you know."

Adrianna was silent, trying to make a spark from two rocks.

"Isn't it natural that that came from somewhere?"

And Adrianna looked up. "What, it's like some platonic destiny, then?" and she was smirking.

I shrugged, "Maybe."

Then she gave up and threw the rocks on the ground, looking at me. "Don't you want to go home, Jenny?"

I looked down. This wasn't fair. I wasn't prepared for this conversation. We weren't even _friends_; why did it matter what I wanted to do? Why did she even care? "I don't know," I said finally.

Adrianna's face closed off. "_Why?"_

"I just fit here," I said shortly, not really expecting her to understand.

"And you don't fit at home?" she asked sarcastically. I glared at her. "You don't even miss your parents?" and her voice was just disbelieving now. "Or Lyssa?"

"Does that make me a bad person?" I was afraid of her answer, my heart clenching.

Adrianna looked a little crushed and a little disappointed. "Yeah," she said, like she was blown away by my answer. "Kinda, yeah."

And we were silent after that.

Adrianna managed to get the fire going an hour later.

* * *

When Merlin saw the fire in the distance, he thought his heart might have accidently exploded. _What were they thinking?_

Never mind being worried about them all day (because really, there were so many things that could have gone wrong ranging from _Merlin, we accidently turned in the wrong direction and now we are really, really lost_, because neither of them could even navigate the castle properly let alone use a map, to _Merlin, OhmyGod, help!_ And he didn't want to think about that last one because it led to dangerous things that were just better not being thought about).

He was mentally reviewing a list of good ways to distract Arthur when there was a small scream in the distance. That was then he knew he was done for. _Done for_.

Arthur (the bastard) had sprung up immediately and his eyes landed on the fire. "Do you think we're being followed?"

"Er…"

Thankfully (and maybe not so much) Arthur didn't seem to require an answer. "Come on," he said, tugging Merlin to his feet roughly. "And for heaven's sake, try to keep quiet."

Merlin made a rude gesture at his back, wondering exactly how it feels when one's head is disconnected from their body.

They crept through the trees quietly and Merlin prayed that Adrianna could think on her feet (Because Jenny? Forget that. He didn't even want to see that one). Then they peaked out through the trees at them.

"What in the world are _girls_ doing following us?" Arthur hissed at him.

"How should I know?" Merlin hissed back, quietly panicking. "But they clearly aren't any threat. Maybe we could just –"

But it was too late. There was another scream (from Adrianna yelling at Jenny, he supposed) and his hands gripped the tree branch as Jenny and Adrianna stood a metre apart, glaring at each other from what he could see. When he looked back to where Arthur was supposed to be beside him, he found an empty spot. And then Adrianna screamed for a different reason.

* * *

"Sire, it was probably unnecessary to jump out at them like that."

"Oh, shut up, _Mer_lin."

I thought Adrianna might have actually had a heart attack, she'd screamed so loud. In her defence I had seen Arthur coming and she hadn't, but _really_. She was sitting like a petulant child over on another log, pouting. Secretly I thought maybe she was embarrassed because that wasn't how she envisioned meeting Prince Arthur. But I would have only mentioned that if I was suicidal.

"What are you two doing out here?" Arthur demanded, which was a lot more articulate than when he'd first seen me up close and said, "What, are you _everywhere?_"

I turned toward Adrianna but apparently she'd frozen like a deer in headlights. And I sucked in a deep breath. "My mother is sick, my Lord," I said. "We are on our way to her now."

He gave me a suspicious look and I hoped that there was some random village anywhere near here. Or that if there wasn't he didn't know about it.

"Were you aware that we were in front of you?" he asked and I shook my head.

"Not until now, when we stopped to rest for the night."

My hands were sweating but Merlin was smiling at me encouragingly behind Arthur's back, so I must have been doing something right.

"... And you're travelling alone."

Oh, damn. "Yes?"

Adrianna chose this moment to jump in. "It wasn't supposed to be such a long trip," she said. "But I think we're lost."

Oh my God. I was going to murder her. First I introduced myself to Prince Arthur by throwing porridge in his face. Then I managed to embarrass myself by dropping food all over the floor and telling him off. I didn't even want to think about the conversation through his door. Now, apparently, Adrianna and I were going to play the damsels in distress. Great. Lovely. Please kill me.

And predictably… "Well, it's completely unseemly for two women to be travelling alone in the middle of nowhere. You'll have to come with us." And Arthur _did not_ look happy about it.

What, I thought, was my life one big cliché or something?

* * *

Arthur was keeping watch and the three of us were supposed to be sleeping. I got the feeling, mostly from the strange (read: happily surprised) look on Merlin's face, that Arthur was not usually the one who took watch on this type of outing.

Also, I couldn't sleep. And that was annoying because I was stuck listening to Arthur shuffle from across the fire and the wind. Sleeping outside officially sucked; the ground was even harder than the floor in Merlin's room and the grass was really weird to get used to. I made a mental note to never go camping, whatever Adrianna said.

Even though I couldn't sleep, I was reluctant to get up because Arthur was up and maybe I was just a bit nervous around him? So I just kind of laid there thinking about what Adrianna had said to me earlier.

"Are you aware you're fidgeting?"

"Um," I said intelligently, "I wasn't until now. Sorry. I'll stop."

"You should be asleep," he said and I could feel him looking at me.

"Sorry," I said again.

He paused, probably wondering why we were even having such an insane conversation in the first place. "You don't have to apologise all the time."

"Sorr—" and then I broke off grinning sheepishly. "Guess I didn't know I did that either." I rolled over onto my side to face him and he was shaking his head in mock disbelief, I think.

"The servants in Camelot just get stranger and stranger…"

And I actually burst out laughing.

* * *

When Merlin was woken up by Arthur, it was not done quietly.

"Get up, you idiot."

Merlin, half asleep, said, "Mm'not an idiot."

"It's your turn to take watch."

Merlin made a sleepy noise that sounded like "Nyer…" and pushed himself into a sitting position. The worst part of the day, he thought, was definitely waking up.

And the problem with keeping watch was that there was absolutely nothing to do. And it was dark and he didn't understand why Arthur just didn't continue to keep watch. Oh right, he reminded himself, he's a prat.

Now what?

His mother had always told him that his imagination got away with him at times but when he found himself staring at Jenny's bag, he told himself that he was being ridiculous. It was like the stupid thing – namely, the Crystal of Neahtid – _called_ to him. And of course that was the most stupid thing he'd ever heard. Or so he attempted to tell himself anyway.

Merlin clenched his hands into fists. He would not. He knew better than that.

He managed half an hour.

It only took a touch and a glance and a rush of power that felt just a bit dangerous.

What he saw was Morgana and magic. There were flashes of other things but everything was changing too quickly for him to keep up and the crystal was heavy in his hands. He wrenched his gaze away, the stone slipping from his fingers and falling to the grass with a small thud.

He didn't pick it up again.

* * *

Everyone was quiet the next morning but the first thing I noticed was the crystal sitting on the ground near Merlin's feet. It was a good thing that I'd woken up first because Adrianna would have yelled and Arthur he'd have a hell of a time explaining to. I picked it up gently and slipped it into the bag. I wouldn't let it leave my sight again, if the look on Merlin's face was any indication of what it was capable of.

He looked tired and guilty. He opened his mouth to say something but I shook my head. It didn't matter. It was done. He didn't have to talk about it. Smiling at me in a kind of sad way, he got up to rouse Arthur.

It was still dark, the sun just rising, and I shivered, pushing Adrianna awake. She mumbled incoherently at me. The conversation I'd had with Arthur was something I learned was probably rare with anyone other than Merlin (and I had my own theories about their friendship; what was put on for show in front of the court and what was actually there). The camp was packed away and disassembled quickly and Arthur looked worried.

Not, of course, that I kept looking at him. Or that I was even good at reading moods in the first place. In fact, Adrianna told me I was really bad at it. I forced that train of thought off its tracks.

Arthur was quiet, Merlin was quiet, Adrianna was quiet, and I was getting really fidgety. Something told me it was annoying Adrianna too, because I could feel her shift behind me on the horse kind of like she wanted to hit me. "Sorry," I muttered.

"Just.. shut up."

I couldn't see her face but she sounded embarrassed (maybe I should just stop attempting to understand how people feel?). In fact she'd been really, really quiet the night before as well. And then I had a thought strike me. Was she –

"Are you star--?" I started but she smacked my arm hard enough for Arthur to glance back at us strangely.

"If you finish that sentence," she said in my ear, "I will cheerfully bludgeon you to death."

"You are!" I hissed back, feeling a triumphant smile spread across my face. "You're totally star struck!"

She hit me again and I yelped and this time both Merlin and Arthur turned around giving us odd looks. I tried to smile at them awkwardly but I think it came out more of a grimace as I rubbed at the newly forming bruise on my arm – that had really hurt!

* * *

When we arrived at the lake it was a bit of a shock. It looked like nothing, perhaps the ruins of something very old. But even I could feel the thrum of magic surrounding the place – more so than when I touched the lake Avalon resided in even. Arthur did not look happy and Merlin's face was blank.

We dismounted and somehow I managed to get my foot stuck ungracefully in the stirrup and fell to the ground with a loud thud, the breath knocked right out of me. I shouldn't be allowed to do things, I decided as Arthur took pity on me and hauled me up by my upper arm. Great. Another bruise to add to my growing collection. I heard him mutter something along the lines of "Worse than _Mer_lin…" and I blushed.

"You two will be staying right here," Arthur said firmly. "Where it's safe, with the horses. Do I make myself very clear?"

I cleared my throat. "Crystal," I said, smiling. I was getting better at this lying thing.

He gave me a once over glance and then said, "Well, good. Come on, Merlin, we don't have all day."

They had to cross the lake in a boat to get to the actual island and the mist was thick. They were only halfway across when they disappeared from our sight. They'd find probably nothing there. At least, I hoped they'd find nothing; this was a powerful place we were messing with and I could tell that Merlin was beginning to think the same thing.

Adrianna and I picked our way around the lake. It was large enough to hold an island at least and it worried me. We had to hurry but we couldn't risk splitting up. Ten minutes around to the right found us with a cliff and a rocky, slippery shore leading up to it. We glanced at each other before Adrianna led the way down.

"How do we even know we're going the right way?" Adrianna demanded after she'd slipped and the entire hem of her dress was soaked through. We'd abandoned our maid's slippers a while back and they were in my bag with the crystal, but the water made balancing on the rocks tricky.

I didn't and I was about to shrug and ask if she wanted to turn back the other way when she smacked my shoulder and pointed forward. "Look!"

And I saw it too. There was no other sign that there might have been a cave there save for the resplendent rainbow that glittered across the rocks in a way that only happens when light refracts through a crystal. It was a small dark opening but the outside shone though the mist in the sunlight. I swallowed hard and handed Adrianna her slippers back. The floor of the cave was sharp with broken rock and glass.

The entire journey following a trickle of a stream into the middle of the cave took less than two minutes but I don't remember breathing the entire time. The walls of the cave were made of crystal glass and glistened with water, making the extreme dark of the cave seem lighter. My eyes strained to adjust.

Finally we came to rest at a small stagnant pond, the water perfectly, perfectly still. It was damp and silent except for Adrianna and I breathing and the steady _drip, drip_ of water somewhere behind me.

"Should we?" Adrianna asked uncertainly, hugging herself. Her voice echoed.

I nodded and drew the crystal out. "Do you want to?"

"Um, no?"

I bit my lip. "Ninniane?" I tried. "We seek information and in return we have brought you the crystal."

There was no response. This was not good. At the same time, I was absolutely positive this was the right cave.

"Oh!" Adrianna pulled at her hair. "This would happen."

"If your plans weren't so stupid, we wouldn't be in this mess!" I countered.

"Oh, you know me." Adrianna said, suddenly smiling. I think she'd been driven slightly insane. "These ideas just fly through my head – you know, it seems like a good idea at the time but really, it's not a well thought-out plan?"

I stared at her for a minute. "Oh my God. We're doomed."

"Oh!" she said suddenly, grabbing my arm. "What if it has to be Merlin who calls out? Neither of us have magic!"

That made more sense, but then how were we going to find Merlin and be able to give Ninniane the Crystal without Arthur seeing?

Then we head the voices. "Adrianna! Jenny!" It was Merlin. Panicking, I stuffed the crystal back into my bag and my bag on my shoulder. "What do we do?" I hissed.

However we were saved the trouble of deciding when the two of them rounded the corner into the opening and saw Adrianna and I standing there awkwardly.

"Um, hi?" I said, clearing my throat.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the look of anger on Arthur's face. "What part of 'stay right here' is code for 'please, go wherever the hell you like'?" he asked.

I swallowed, trying to communicate my distress to Merlin, who somehow understood immediately. "We're sorry," I said.

Merlin jumped in, "Arthur, they don't even know what we're doing here. It's not their fault."

I swallowed hard.

Arthur didn't even say anything, he just glared, turned around, and began to make his way toward the entrance of the cave. It was clear we were supposed to follow. This was my chance. I dug through the bag and handed the crystal to Merlin who looked momentarily panicked and then I nodded to Adrianna.

I had a plan – another stupid one but I wasn't sure how else to distract Arthur from what Adrianna and Merlin were doing. Was I going to deliberately play the damsel in distress like a shallow girl wanting attention? Yes. Lyssa would have been ashamed.

He managed to get to the mouth of the cave before noticing that it was only me behind him and then, without remembering that I didn't know how to swim, I intentionally lost my footing, genuinely startled in alarm, and grabbed the nearest thing to me – Arthur's chainmail.

Probably he should have been able to keep us standing upright, but whether it was my extreme bad luck or just the water coating the rocks, we'll never know why we were sent splashing into the lake.

It was cold and immediately deep, coming to just over my head. I gasped, grabbing the rocks for purchase but my fingers just slid right off and my head was under again. I drew in a lungful of water and I couldn't breath. It could only have lasted maybe thirty seconds but it felt like a lot longer before Arthur managed to grab my flailing hands and pull me onto the floor of the cave.

"Are you _insane?_" he asked loudly. "What, are you trying to commit suicide?"

But I was on my hands and knees coughing and trying to catch my breath. My chest hurt and as my breathing finally settled to normal, I was shivering.

* * *

Merlin called out, feeling nervous and Ninniane rose out of the water just as gracefully as Vivienne had. She was the most stunning, dangerously beautiful woman Adrianna had ever seen but she didn't have Vivienne's softness. Her face was a plane of angles and her black hair tumbled down her back in a tangle of knots. She stared unsmilingly at Merlin.

"I am Ninniane. You've come here seeking information. Ask your question."

Merlin swallowed. "We want to know about the mirror. We've brought," and he lowered his voice, "We've brought the Crystal of Neahtid in exchange for the information."

A smile spread across her face but it could have only been described as cold and indifferent. She walked, moving across the water as gracefully as Vivienne had, stopping only in front of Merlin. This time he did not look in awe. He handed her the heavy crystal, their hands brushing.

"It has been under your feet this entire time," she said a light taunting note to her voice. "You'll find it in your Lady Morgana's chambers, leaning against the wall."

Adrianna gasped her hands flying to her mouth. _No!_ This whole time. The Mirror – it was the Lady Morgana's! Merlin looked over at her – this was not good, she read in his face.

Purposefully, Ninniane stroked the clear crystal with her thumb and dropped it into the water at her feet. It landed with a splash. "Is there anything else you desire of me?"

"No," Merlin said, closing his eyes tightly.

Ninniane smiled unkindly. "You have royalty here with you today, warlock."

Merlin didn't answer and Adrianna worried her lip.

"I've been burdened with this task, just as Vivienne has hers. We each guard a sword, each one half of a whole. This half you'll find on your way back, in a different cave. Take him to it." She stepped back away from Merlin and stared at her glassy pool of water.

"This won't be the last time we meet," she said, her face a mask of apathy. And she folded in on herself and sunk into the water, the rocks swallowing her up.

Adrianna realized she was shaking.

"Come on," Merlin said, coming to himself first and leading the way outside.

They found Jenny lifting herself up of the ground, shivering violently. Both she and Arthur were soaked to the skin.

* * *

Camp that night was awkward. When Arthur demanded to know what had taken Adrianna and Merlin, Merlin had said he'd tripped. Arthur's reply was something like, "Is _everyone_ accident prone today?"

I was quiet, wrapped in a warm blanket that Merlin had the foresight to pack. Adrianna had yelled at me in whispers for being so stupid. "Yeah, and _my_ plans all go to hell. What were you thinking?!"

As it turned out there was nothing on the Isle of the Blessed, but they hadn't stuck around for too long to look either. Arthur was disappointed and angry in equal measure, probably that they'd come all the way out here for no reason and hadn't even retrieved the crystal. His father, I knew, would not be forgiving. Guilt made my stomach turn and I refused the rabbit Arthur had caught and made Merlin prepare for supper.

While Arthur was doing that, Merlin and Adrianna filled me in. Honestly, I could have killed Adrianna myself. "What? It's not my fault!" she'd said heatedly. "You're the stupid one who tripped and knocked us into it in the first place!"

"Yeah but _how_ could you not recognize it all this time?" I'd argued back.

And Merlin told me what Ninniane had said about the sword. "Another?" I asked.

He nodded. "I think destiny has this funny thing about doing things in pairs," he said pressing his lips into a thin line.

I hadn't answered. I didn't know what to think anymore. And my head hurt a lot.

So, I sat in front of the fire wrapped in just a blanket and undergarments because Adrianna and I hadn't exactly thought to bring a change of clothes. Wet clothes would apparently give me hypothermia. Yeah. Whatever. Life just hated me. I pushed my hair out of my face.

"You should eat something," a quiet voice said next to me.

"I'm not hungry, Sire," I answered politely. I paused, "I thought you were angry at me?"

He pursed his lips. "You're a lot like Merlin – hard to stay angry at even though you're a complete idiot."

"Um, thanks?" I accepted the plate wordlessly, tucking my hair behind my ear.

And he froze and I froze like a deer in headlights. Merlin and Adrianna stopped arguing.

"_What_," Arthur said, his voice as hard as steel, "Is that?"

I swallowed and closed my eyes. _That_, I thought, was my scar.

* * *

_Notes:_

Will you all kill me horribly because of the cliffhanger? I am sorry about that...

Well, yes. The title comes from Mary Stewart's Merlin series the first book being called _The Crystal Cave_. I thought it was appropriate since we were dealing with Ninniane's cave to begin with :)

Oh, and don't forget to review :D


	12. The Sword in the Stone

_Author's Note:_

Hello all! ... all of you who decided to stick around, anyway. It has been... a long time? since I last updated D: Life's been hectic and I had a bit of writer's block for a while. But I'm back, which is all good. Hopefully it'll only take about a week for me to get Chapter 13 up :D

_Warnings: _AU after S1 Ep09, General spoilers for S1 and S2, and Spoilers for _The Once and Future King _by TH White.  
_Disclaimer:_ I own nothing! NOTHING! :D Well, actually, I only own Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and Brittany. And any other original character that you happen across. Anything recognizable isn't mine.

And: Thank you to **merlin's mag**i, **Setari**, **sarahelizableth1993**, and **Catindahat**. And of course to **Wren Hightower** for the beta. She is a punctuation queen! :D

Right. So, read, review, and enjoy :)

* * *

**-- Chapter 12: The Sword in the Stone --**

Arthur's day _did not_ start out completely, totally, perfectly normal. This was because the impossible had finally happened. He didn't understand the elegant script on the metal and the craftsmanship of the hilt was unfamiliar. But it was beautiful and familiar. His.

There was a sword slicing cleanly through a rock. And it sang to him – like it was made for him, for Arthur to hold in his hands, for Arthur to wield.

His grasped the hilt and pulled.

I scrambled backward, keeping the blanket firmly around my shoulders. "No!" I said desperately, "Please, let me explain!"

Arthur had sprung away from me, the plate upended. I tried to get to my feet but I tripped over the blanket and fell onto my backside. "You! It's been you two all along, hasn't it?" His hand drifted toward his sword and I swallowed very hard.

"No!" I said again, "I swear, we don't know any magic!"

But his eyes drifted toward Merlin, who'd sprung up instantly to step in front of Adrianna. Adrianna's eyes widened a fraction of a second later, when she realised what was happening. She pushed Merlin away roughly, "I don't need _protection_, you idiot!"

"You've known about this, have you?" Arthur asked coldly and then he grabbed Merlin violently by the front of his shirt, pushing him roughly into the trunk of a nearby tree. My hands flew to stifle a gasp from my mouth. "You've been hiding sorceresses this entire time?"

"We're not magic!" I said, crying now.

Adrianna made to grab Arthur by the back if his tunic or something but I caught her arm – she was completely insane if she thought she had any strength that could match up to his.

"Sire," Merlin panted, trying to loosen Arthur's grip, "Do you really think I'd hide something like that from you?"

And, when my brain caught up with this statement later, I thought, so, so, ironic.

"How should I know?" Arthur asked.

Merlin just closed his eyes for a minute, "They're innocent. They are the girls but they aren't – they don't practice magic, I swear to you." His hands looked like they were itching to come up and attempt to remove Arthur's hand from his shirt but Merlin refrained himself.

Arthur searched Merlin's face for a moment before unclenching his fist and allowing Merlin to slide down the trunk of the tree and onto the forest floor. "And what would you know about magic, Merlin?" Arthur asked, his voice somewhere between angry, mocking, and maybe slightly relieved.

Merlin swallowed noticeably, "Nothing."

* * *

There was a very awkward, strained silence.

Arthur turned after a moment, his face hard and resigned. "I think everyone has some explaining to do," he said after a minute, looking around at us. Me, with my knuckles stuffed in my mouth to keep from shouting, Adrianna who looked very much like she'd love nothing more than to punch Arthur in the face, and Merlin who looked relieved and afraid in equal measures.

"What do you want to know?" Adrianna asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "We're not magic – clearly you grabbed the wrong people. What more is there to say?"

Arthur looked indignant. "You cannot possibly be telling me that you aren't the girls who appeared out of thin air. You were surrounded by a group of people, for goodness' sake!"

"Er…" I mumbled. Usually, I was pretty good at lying under pressure but there was something about the way Arthur was looking at me that apparently froze my brain.

Merlin spoke up, "I, um, they said a witch was keeping them captive and… there was something about a Mirror, right?" He was looking at Adrianna and me like we should say something.

My tongue caught up with my brain, finally. "We didn't understand it," I said, "Magic is complicated, right? I don't know what she was doing. There were, like, strange words and… stuff."

Lyssa would be ashamed of me, I thought again. I was clearly becoming a (bad) compulsive liar. Is this was Merlin felt like all the time? Adrianna was staring at me like I was insane and Merlin threw me a look – I wasn't sure whether this was supposed to be encouraging or not.

"And you've been in the castle, impersonating servants all this time?" Arthur asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. And then he rounded on Adrianna. "_You've_ been working for the Lady Morgana! What's wrong with you?" he asked heatedly.

Adrianna looked angry. "It was Merlin's idea!" she shouted back. "I didn't even want to!"

Merlin shot Adrianna a horrified look and she snapped her mouth shut.

Arthur was looking between the three of us, his jaw line hard and his eyes narrowed. After a second, he turned on his heel and marched off in the other direction. I watched Merlin to see if he was going to go after him but he just shook his head, leaning back more fully against the trunk of the tree.

* * *

So, a quick inventory of bad things that have happened, I thought as I forced myself to lie down on the ground. One, at the top of the list, Arthur had found out that we weren't actually servants. He wasn't currently talking to anyone so we had no idea what was going on in his head but I was certain that it wouldn't be good. Two, somewhere lying just under my and Adrianna's impending doom, was the entire ordeal at the Crystal Caves (which is what I dubbed them in my head). Of course, the Crystal of Neahtid was lost forever to Ninniane. Arthur hadn't commented on this. Yet. He must've realized that the Crystal wasn't actually on the Isle of the Blessed, he must have been wondering if Adrianna and I had it. Three, very bluntly, we were both worried about Merlin, who I'm sure was more than worried about himself. And Four, which was more like a constant headache floating around somewhere near the nape of my neck, now that we knew where the Mirror was, how did we get to it and how did we use it?

* * *

By the time Arthur had calmed himself down enough to make his way back to the spot where they decided to stay the night, he'd gone through at least a dozen scenarios in his head. Some of them were ridiculous of course and some of them made him wince. He didn't like the idea that Merlin was lying to him the entire time and he hadn't even noticed – usually, Arthur thought, Merlin was an open book.

Someone had gotten a fire going in his absence (probably Merlin, he thought, because if the fire Jenny and Adrianna attempted when they'd found them was any indication, the girls sorely lacked any such skills). Then he noticed it was actually quite dark out. He frowned, not quite sure where the time had gone.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself. He was angry – very angry. And he should be, Arthur assured himself. He knew almost certainly that there was no way Jenny and Adrianna could have been sorceresses. If they were, they would have done something in the two months his knights had been looking for them. But there were big, gaping holes in their story – the kind that he could have ridden a horse through. It didn't add up, they were lying about something.

The crystal, them following Arthur and Merlin, and for goodness' sake, where in the world had the rumour involving the Isle of the Blessed come from in the first place, then? He really doesn't want to know (except that he really, really _does_) but he has to – it's his duty to Camelot.

Arthur had half a mind to wake the girls up, huddled together in the bedroll Merlin gave up for them but Merlin looked at him and smiled warily, and Arthur sighed, resolving to wait until morning when they could all think straight again. After all, they looked a bit pathetic lying there – two plucky teenage girls (Arthur reminded himself that they were probably at most two (?) years younger than him but there seemed to be some kind of experience gap between him and them – fitting no doubt in the gaps in their story somewhere, he was sure).

* * *

Adrianna had pretty much come to the conclusion that camping without a tent was not like camping at all. It was so much worse. There were bugs and her back hurt and, oh my God, she'd _never_ be able to get the knots out of her hair. Jenny snuffled beside her in her sleep and Adrianna pushed her roughly.

Today was going to suck. And she felt vaguely like she was going to be sick. Also, if anyone ever asked her back home, she'd tell them rabbit was absolutely disgusting.

Somehow, she thought, pulling her hair apart (the ripping sounds weren't healthy, surely?), they needed to, what? Guide Arthur to this mysterious other sword? She was beginning to believe Merlin when he said that destiny was fond of playing sick jokes on people. Because going back in time and landing in the middle of the Arthurian legend – probably not a coincidence.

It was only when she stood up that she noticed she wasn't the only one up. Arthur was still awake, seeing to the fire and probably watching the horses. He was shooting her looks that she interpreted as some mix between friendly, curious, and hostile – and she wasn't quite sure how these expressions mixed, only that they did. "Erm," she said awkwardly. Because yes, she was a little star struck, though she wouldn't admit it under pain of death of course. Plus, the guy was clearly a complete prat (and if she picked up calling him that from Merlin, she wasn't going to admit that either).

"You're not planning our executions are you?"

He cracked a smile, surprising her. "Somehow," Arthur said, glancing at Jenny, "something tells me that you just don't know magic."

For some reason (why? Good question) Adrianna found this statement offensive.

* * *

"Have you noticed," Adrianna said to me later, "that everything lately is epic-ish?"

"Epic-ish?" I asked, glad that we were slow and Arthur and Merlin were a decent distance in front of us. Besides, I really didn't think they were listening.

"Yeah," Adrianna gestured vaguely with her hand behind me (and I thought, _don't let go!_ The horse was definitely still scary). "You know with the scary black knight guy and then with Vivienne, right? And, God, Ninniane was scary. You weren't there but –"

"You," I said, cutting her off, "Are probably the only person I know who would expect going back in time to be boring. And I say this having had experience dealing with Lyssa."

Adrianna shrugged and leaned toward me - I just _knew_ she was grinning mischievously. Next to my ear, she said, "You _like_ him…" in a singsong voice.

"What?" I hissed back. "What are you talking about?" My cheeks felt hot.

"Nothing," Adrianna said, a smirk in her voice.

If this is how they talked in the popular group that always huddled together in the cafeteria, I most definitely was thankful I was never part of it. "Yeah? Well, you like –"

Adrianna had her hand clamped in a vice-like grip on my mouth, "If you finish that sentence," she said quietly, "I will so very cheerfully beat you to death. It is not true. If I hear it again, I will kill something. And it will not be quick, it will be painful."

"Okay," I squeaked.

Adrianna was really scary. From what I heard about Morgana, they were a good match, servant and Lady.

We were getting dangerously close to Camelot and there was still no sign of any cave. Merlin looked like he was starting to get worried but I agreed with Adrianna - what's the worst that could happen if Arthur didn't get the sword right away? It's not like he'd never get it.

Also, Arthur hadn't said anything about the crystal or asked why Adrianna and I were out here at all. Was he intending to ignore it entirely or were the guards going to arrest us immediately as soon as we passed through the gates?

The tension was making me anxious.

Adrianna wasn't helping the matter. I was sure that this wasn't an appropriate time to mutter mocking comments in my ear, intentionally making me blush and stutter. Arthur was probably beginning to think I had some type of mental disorder.

Because of course I didn't like Arthur. The Arthur I liked only existed in T.H. White's version of the legend. Right? Plus, _plus_, I thought, that Arthur was way too old for me. This Arthur wasn't though.

I pressed my lips together – this train of thought was clearly not helping me.

"What was that?" Merlin said suddenly.

Adrianna, slowing the horse and swatting me on the arm, brought me out of my daydream unpleasantly. "Pay attention!" she scolded in a whisper.

"What?" Arthur asked, "I didn't hear anything."

Then we all heard it. A high-pitched wailing seemed to fall from the sky. Nothing human could have possibly made that sound.

Arthur was off his horse straight away. "It's coming from somewhere in the forest," he said, gesturing at the trees.

"Why can't we ever have a normal adventure-type-thing?" Merlin complained (this, I thought, signalled his relief. Of course this was the sword. What else could it be?).

Arthur rolled his eyes as Merlin helped me off the horse so I wouldn't accidently kill myself. Adrianna slid off gracefully. I hated her. "And we're just gonna go after it – in there?" Adrianna asked. "It was just a sound. Do you usually chase after random threatening-sounding sounds?" Her expression was the picture of exasperation. At least she wasn't star-struck anymore.

Arthur glared but basically ignored her. I was beginning to wonder if most men were like this or if it was just knights. (Maybe it was just Arthur. That thought was not comforting.)

"We're …coming with you, then?" I asked, following him and Merlin into the threes.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I can hardly leave you to watch three horses in the middle of the road, can I?"

Thoughts about how he could've been less rude about it were pushed aside. It was dark and I was glad that Adrianna was leading the horse because I could barely guide myself as it was. Random patches of sunlight burst through the ceiling of leaves and branches and splayed onto the floor, a rough path sketched ahead for us.

And there it was, a small opening into the side of a hill. It wasn't like Ninniane's cave or Vivienne's lake. It was painfully ordinary, dull rocks carved into the side of the hill and a dirt path leading to the mouth, the grass worn away by footprints.

An unexpected thought occurred to me, then. I wasn't sure how I'd not thought of it before. I swallowed thickly, a very good guess at what was in the cave pictured in my mind.

We secured the horses to a tree, where they shifted restlessly.

The cave smelled like earth and wasn't deep. It looked like someone had deliberately carved it out of the hillside with the sole purpose of –

A narrow shaft of sunlight came from a small opening overhead and I was reminded forcibly of the 1963 Disney movie, the Sword in the Stone. A long, bright sword was severing a smooth chunk of rock in two. There were no angles, just shiny stone and metal gleaming in the stream of light.

I glanced at Arthur, who looked like something had just knocked the breath out of him.

I breathed out and in again slowly, stopping myself forcibly from hyperventilating. _Who so Pulleth Out This Sword of this Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of England, _I quoted in my head, only realizing I'd whispered the words aloud when Adrianna gripped my arm hard enough to bruise. Neither Merlin nor Arthur had even noticed.

The moment had only lasted thirty seconds, maybe less, but it broke when Arthur pushed Merlin forward and he stumbled. "Try to pull it out," he ordered.

Merlin looked at him dubiously and then glanced our way and I shrugged; it wouldn't matter either way. The sword would only slide free for Arthur, after all. Looking as though he felt like an idiot, Merlin grasped the hilt and tugged. The sword didn't even move.

I bit my lip, hands clenched tightly into fists. I didn't understand why there was a sword in the stone at all. Arthur was all ready Crown Prince. It had been meant to symbolise that he was Uther Pendragon's son, having grown up away from court completely and in Sir Ector's castle. There was no need for that proof here. Yet, as Arthur stepped forward to examine the sword without touching, I could see the letters glittering on the blade. It wasn't in English but I would have bet my life it read the words I'd spoken aloud.

He gripped the hilt like it would shatter any second and pulled the sword free without any catch. The metal flashed in the light. Arthur glanced at us, first at Merlin and then at me and Adrianna, his expression complete disbelief.

I smiled though the knot of worry in my throat.

* * *

The return to Camelot seemed disturbingly quiet after the past two days – the longest two days yet in my life. I was unconvinced that I would ever have a longer day.

I went back to running food and Adrianna went back to attending Morgana. No one came to cart me, Adrianna, or Merlin away to the cells so I guessed everything was okay in that sense. Of course, I still had an uneasy feeling but that was more to do with the future than anything.

Arthur had a new sword he didn't know what to do with. And Merlin had told me that Geoffrey Monmouth (and when I discovered that he was their librarian, I promptly had a small, powerful mental breakdown) couldn't translate the lettering we found on the blade.

The Mirror was so close yet so far, as they say. It was right upstairs, sitting harmlessly in Morgana's room. Adrianna saw it every time she went to turn down her bed or give her the potion for her nightmares, which had gotten worse. Adrianna offered, I think, to sleep in the antechamber connected to Morgana's rooms as Guinevere had once done but Morgana had said something that made Adrianna return in tears. She wouldn't talk about it.

Merlin seemed nervous about that. "It's not like her…" he said, when Adrianna had slammed the bedroom door in his face.

"Who?" I asked, "Morgana or Adrianna?"

He rolled his eyes, "Morgana. Adrianna's usually dramatic, isn't she?"

I thought about it for a second. "Yeah," I conceded.

Merlin glanced over at Gaius, who was suspiciously not commenting on what we were talking about. Then again, I was pretty sure that Merlin didn't want to be heard, exactly. We ended up going for a walk through the corridors of the castle.

"I think I want to stay here," I said. At the same time, Merlin started, "I'm worried about Morgana."

We paused, "What about her?" I asked after a minute as we resumed walking. "She's upset about Guinevere, right? She must actually think that she's, I don't know, dead?" My voice cracked on the last word.

Merlin bit his lip and sighed. He glanced around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. "She has magic," he whispered. "I think. Or at least, she dreams and then they come true."

I failed to be surprised and almost said something sarcastic but stopped myself when I saw his face. Adrianna was clearly having a bad influence on me. "And, what?" I asked after a minute in a hushed voice. "She's afraid of Uther finding out?"

Merlin shook his head, wringing his hands worriedly. "I don't think she knows. Gaius said it would be better for her not to."

"I… don't know what you want me to tell you." I said sighing loudly. "I wish I knew more but everything I know doesn't seem to apply and –"

"Merlin!" We turned around together and were met with the sight of Prince Arthur making his way toward us. Instantly my heart decided to speed up a couple of beats per second.

When he drew level with us, he stared at Merlin like he was expecting something. "Erm, yes Sire?" he asked.

"Don't you have things to be doing?" Arthur gestured in the vague direction of the stables out of a nearby window and Merlin pulled a face.

"Oh, of course," Merlin answered sarcastically. "Never mind that I just did them yesterday!" Absentmindedly, he pulled at my wrist for me to follow him.

Before I took two steps, Arthur's hand on my arm stopped me and Merlin glanced at him, looking afraid. Arthur rolled his eyes before jerking his head toward the stairs with an expression that said, well, I'm waiting. Merlin pressed his lips together and set his jaw before taking off in the other direction. I would have bet my life he was standing on the other side of the wall waiting for me and eavesdropping.

I chewed at my bottom lip. "Yes, Sire?" I asked taking a few steps backward.

"Where's the other one?" Arthur asked, "Adrianna?"

I felt my forehead crinkle in surprise. "She's not feeling well," I answered.

Arthur sighed, shifting his weight. "You're not the sorceresses," he stated.

"No," I agreed.

"And you don't know any magic."

"None," I said.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "And is there any particular reason you followed us out to the Isle of the Blessed then?"

This was the question everyone had been waiting for. I could do this two ways. The first involved saying, What? We didn't follow you. I said we were lost, remember? The second was more along the lines of: We followed you because we stole the Crystal of Neahtid and had to give it to Ninniane the goddess of Life-Death-whatagain? In exchange for information that was ultimately redundant. There was a third option, possibly, and I scrambled for it.

"If I told you that you wouldn't believe me, could we pretend this never happened?" I asked a little desperately, flattening my hair against my face again. "If I said I'd tell you one day. Everyone has secrets, don't they?"

Arthur stared at me. His eyes were very blue. "I'm not sure this conversation is going the way I wanted it to," he confessed slowly.

I stepped back again, my heart hammering, "I know what you mean, Sire."


	13. Blood and Glass

_Author's Note:_

Hello! This is slightly over the week and a half I promised and on top of that, it's a relatively short chapter. However, you can pretty much count on a monster chapter next time, as the situation calls for it :D

Okay, here we go:

_Disclaimer:_ I OWN NOTHING :D Except Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and Brittany, and any other OC that may appear.  
_Warnings:_ AU after S1 Ep09, General spoilers for S1 and S2, Spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White.

And thank you to **merlin's magi**, **saraelizabeth1993**, **candy-cake**, **GoldenAura**, **Catindahat**, **Setari**, and **thebloodrose** for reviewing! You all make my life! Also thanks to **Wren Hightower** for the beta and for catching a potentially embarrassing mistake ^^;

Okay, so read, review, and enjoy!

* * *

**- Chapter Thirteen: Blood and Glass -**

Lyssa's day _did not_ start out completely, totally, perfectly normal. You know when you sleep on things and suddenly you just wake up and have the answer, as if your brain worked on the problem overnight while you were enjoying your dreams? She once read something about subconscious processing that she was forcibly reminded of now.

Basically, her day started at midnight when she sat bolt upright and panting with a dream of blood and glass pricking at the edge of her mind.

* * *

Lyssa's handwriting was messy as she scrawled down the functions of the circulatory system. They were having a 'homework check' in Biology today, she knew (which was really, really just degrading at their age) and she hadn't finished.

Her mind was on other things – her Ancient History assignment for one thing. Because, honestly, it was worth an indecent chunk of her mark.

_Blood supplies nutrients to the body's tissues_

_ Blood regulates pH and body temperature_

_ Blood used to be used in sacrificial ceremony—_

She scratched out that last one. Wrong subject.

* * *

Brittany was having a surprisingly good day so far. She'd managed to avoid Mr Sloan (who was out for her blood since she'd missed so many classes. She was completely convinced that they were going to sick the guidance councillor on her soon), and she'd successfully finished _The Once and Future King_ (she cried but no one needed to know that).

The downfall of her day started with Biology. They were onto learning about the circulatory system and Brittany (for once in her life) understood what was going on in the class. It was… odd.

Lyssa had fallen asleep on her desk. She noticed slightly enviously that Ms Nook hadn't said anything about that. If it had been Brittany, it would be a completely different story, she was sure. They had started sitting together last week sometime and, though they drew some odd stares from both ends of the social spectrum, no one said anything. Brittany was almost positive the reason behind this was also the reason no one asked her about how she felt about Addie or Lyssa about Jeanette.

And that was another knot she needed to somehow unravel. With no idea at all how to work the Mirror fragment or if it even could work, if it would work in the same way, they were hesitant to try anything at all. Plus, if it was just shattering it – which was fairly easy – how could they ensure that Addie and Jenny would come back to this side of the Mirror if Gwen went through? Did they have to be in front of the Mirror as well or would it just pick them up randomly?

Just thinking about it gave her a headache.

Much like the one she had last night after Adrianna's mother phoned her mother and started balling her eyes out because, and she could quote from memory, "your daughter ruined mine. If she hadn't been such a bad influence Addie would still be here with me- and –and" all said in a very whiney voice with a lot of tears.

It was almost worse than the gossip that was going around the school – that Adrianna and Jenny had run away with some kid named Julian. Where the hell he came into the equation was anyone's guess because he and that Art kid Michelle had _actually_ run away together, so far as Brittany knew. It did make a very good cover story, though, since reality went something like this:

_Oh, yeah? Ran away together? Well, actually, they tripped and fell into a Mirror, disappeared, and we _think_ they ended up some fifteen hundred years in the past with King Arthur. What? It's not just a legend…_

Running away? More plausible, even if Michelle had come back two weeks later, slightly depressed and having no idea what anyone was saying about Jenny and Adrianna.

Brittany glanced at the clock. The bell was going to ring any minute.

She wasn't sure why she did it. Teenagers did stupid stuff all the time, right? Had to do with the developing prefrontal cortex or something? Lyssa would know. But Lyssa was asleep. Brittany bit her lip and reached into the sweater of Lyssa's pocket, feeling the cold glass of the Mirror on her fingertips.

The bell rang and Lyssa startled just as Brittany was slipping the shard into her jeans pocket.

* * *

Dinner was usually awkward, so this wasn't really a new thing. Gwen, over the last two months, had gotten used to the informal talk, equality, and the fact that girls wore increasingly inappropriate clothing. For some reason, she couldn't get over Lyssa's mother's over-protectiveness.

"I hear you've been hanging out with Brittany Rolland lately," she stated.

Lyssa shrugged, "Yeah, so?"

Ms Velusi sighed and set her fork down. Gwen ducked her head, wondering if she should leave for this conversation. "You think I don't hear about what she gets up to?"

Lyssa pursed her lips and Gwen knew she was trying not to argue. "She doesn't _get up_ to anything, Mum."

"That's not what I heard from Danielle Sparks."

Lyssa looked up immediately, a betrayed expression crossing her face. "Since when do you talk to Adrianna's mum?" she asked coldly.

"Since my daughter started not talking to _me_."

Gwen was wishing she was invisible or, even better, not there at all because this conversation was really not about her and if she could sink into the floor? That would be great.

The look on Lyssa's face was of disgust. She picked up her plate, set it on the counter, and left the room without saying anything. Gwen heard her bedroom door slam.

Ms Velusi sighed and rubbed a hand over her face and turned toward Gwen who was staring at her plate with flushed cheeks. "Gwen?" Only when she looked up did Ms Velusi continue. "Have you remembered anything, sweetie?"

Gwen's head snapped up. "Um, no. Nothing. I'm sorry," she said, her voice shaking a little.

It was the first time Lyssa's mother had asked anything like that and Gwen had understood why. It'd been almost two months now and she would probably be expecting a girl of about eighteen to get her act together by now. Or at least try to, regardless of her memory. Gwen swallowed loudly and stood, bringing her plate to the sink. "I'm thinking of looking for a job?" she lied. It sounded like a question.

Ms Velusi looked surprised and Gwen thought for a second that she'd completely said the wrong thing. But the she sighed and smiled.

* * *

Gwen walked into Lyssa's bedroom to find Lyssa frantically ripping through her desk drawers, papers, pencils, binders, and random knickknacks scattered all over the floor and Lyssa crying hysterically.

"What are you doing?" Gwen said, stepping over the mess and pulling Lyssa to her feet. Her face was red and swollen from crying.

"I can't find it," Lyssa said looking down at the floor and at her desk. "The Mirror. I can't find it."

Gwen's eyes widened, "Well, where did you last put it?" she asked, immediately dropping to Lyssa's backpack even though the contents were all ready upturned all over the floor.

Lyssa rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand, "I thought I put it in my pocket but—"

Gwen winced, her heart beating too fast to be healthy. That little Mirror was Gwen's only chance to get home. If Lyssa had lost it—

They sat with their backs against Lyssa's bed frame, the floor hard. Lyssa was wiping the tears of her face with the sleeve of her sweater and Gwen couldn't do anything but sigh.

Over the last two months, she'd proven to herself that she could stay here, in the future, that she could adapt. That didn't mean she wanted to.

* * *

Lyssa hadn't called her, which was slightly worrying, Brittany thought, staring at her eye in the Mirror fragment. It was very… brown.

The light of her desk lamp caught on the shard and it shone slightly. But that was about all it did. She'd looked at it up close, pressing it cool against her nose and she'd held it at arms length. She'd turned it upside down and on its sides and none of it seemed to make any difference. She couldn't seem to get to it do what she wanted. It was just as useless as it had been the first time she'd had it.

Also, she eyed her phone and bit her lip, had Lyssa even noticed it was gone?

Brittany sighed, flipping it so that the shiny side was face down on the wood and pushing it away from her. She scraped her hair out of her face and into a ponytail for the fifth time in twenty minutes, telling herself to stop touching it. It was clearly becoming a nervous habit.

She pushed her chair back roughly and set her chin on her desk, the dull side of the mirror just in front of her nose. She crossed her eyes, staring at it.

All she wanted was to see Adrianna. Even Jenny. Anything at all, actually. If she saw the side of a stone wall, she would have been happy. If Lyssa could scry using the Mirror then why couldn't Brittany? Lyssa didn't even know what scrying was, for goodness' sake! It wasn't fair.

Sitting up, she glanced at her phone again. Maybe she should call Lyssa to let her and Gwen know that she had the Mirror.

So she sat up and pulled her chair back in and reached for her cell phone. Unfortunately, she caught her hand on the side of her desk drawer, her nail chipping painfully just past the quick.

She winced, shaking it out and bringing it close to her face for inspection. It stung and there was a bead of blood blooming at the corner of her nail. She sucked it into her mouth, tasting copper.

Then she sighed and using her other hand, she flipped the Mirror back facing up. And she got up to get a bandage.

* * *

Gwen woke up to a short scream from beside her. Lyssa bolted up immediately, unsteady on her feet and looking around wildly, half like there was something wrong and half in confusion.

"Did we fall asleep?" Gwen asked in confusion. "Ugh," she said, rolling over onto her back and pushing herself up, "the phone's ringing."

Lyssa stared at it like she didn't understand for a minute and Gwen suddenly understood there was something wrong. Then she seemed to come to herself and picked up the receiver. "Hello – Brittany? It's midni—"

Gwen crawled over to the other side of the bed, staring at Lyssa in concern.

"What the hell, Brittany!" Lyssa shouted, her face a picture of anger, her straight hair on end from sleeping, and her face pale from her nightmare. She looked slightly crazed. "You freaking have it? Do you _know_ what we've been going through over here?"

And Gwen sighed, relief spreading through her.

When Lyssa and Brittany finally hung up the phone, Lyssa sat down on the bed heavily and said, "I had a nightmare."

Gwen thought this was fairly obvious, having seen Morgana after she had nightmares for half her life. She tentatively touched Lyssa on the shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it? My Lady Morgana used to…" she trailed off and Lyssa sighed.

She still looked slightly dazed, slightly like she wanted to throw up, slightly disgusted. "It's crude and simplistic, magic, isn't it, in the end?" she asked.

Gwen pressed her lips together. "I don't know," she said. "I don't know anything about magic."

Lyssa shuddered next to her. "I think I do," she said, turning to Gwen finally, her eyes hard, determined. "I think – blood. I think you need blood for the Mirror to work. It's blood."


	14. The Witch in the Wood

_Author's Note:_

Hello, all! Here's chapter 14 for you :) I've also made myself a writing schedule. just so you all know :D This means that I've set deadlines on everything I have to write by the end of the summer. I've met this deadline (today) which was good :) So... yes.

_Warnings: _AU after series 1 episode 09, General spoilers for series 1 and 2, and Spoilers for _The Once and Future King _TH White.  
_Disclaimer: _ I don't own ANYTHING :) Except Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and Brittany, and any other OC you may happen across.

Thank you to **Magi's Merlin**, **sarahelizabeth1993**, **thebloodrose**, **Setari**, and **Anjay16** for reviewing :D And thanks to **Wren Hightower** for the beta :)

So yes. Read, review, enjoy!

* * *

**- Chapter 14: The Witch in the Wood -**

There was _nothing_ completely, totally, perfectly normal about Morgana's day. At all.

It started with the Mirror sitting in the corner of her room. No, actually, when she thought about it, it didn't. It started months ago, years ago. It started with her dreams, and she'd had them for as long as she could remember. It started with Edwin, months ago, who had connected them with her sickness even though she had a gut feeling that they had nothing to do with it. It started with Sophia, who she'd first been introduced to when she was asleep and had seen her drowning Arthur with magic. It started with the little druid boy – there was a connection, there was. It started with Adrianna lying and the scar on the maidservant Jenny's face and the dreams and the _magic_. (She took a deep breath because - _the magic_.)

It started with the Mirror.

* * *

Adrianna knew something was wrong. She could practically read it in the lines on Morgana's face.

Since they arrived back at the castle she hadn't been eating, she hadn't been sleeping, and she mostly stayed cooped up in her chambers. She snapped at Adrianna constantly, criticising and telling her to leave early.

It didn't help that there was constantly shattered glass on the floor in some way or another – Adrianna wasn't sure where it was coming from because as far as she could tell, Morgana had moved all possible breakable objects out of her bedchamber.

"I don't understand it," she said, leaning onto the counter where Jenny was washing dishes. She was glared at. Privately Adrianna just thought Jenny was in a bad mood because they'd stuck her back on dishwashing duties.

"Possibly, she thinks you don't do enough of your job and wants to sack you," Jenny suggested, hinting heavily for Adrianna to get off her workspace. It was gross anyway.

"That can't be it," Adrianna said, "I do her laundry, clean her room, bring her food – not that she eats any of it."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "What would you like me to say? Maybe she knows you've been lying."

Adrianna picked at her fingernails. "Do you think?"

Jenny looked at her for a moment and then down at the sponge in her hands. "I don't know. Maybe she's found out about the Mirror?"

"Oh, God, I hope not."

* * *

And the Mirror taunted her every time she turned the bed down, every time Gaius asked her to bring Morgana the sleeping draught, every time Morgana asked her a question that hinted Adrianna wasn't telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"Do you need anything else, milady?" Adrianna asked, her hands clenching in the pocket of her dress.

Morgana was standing at the window looking outside, a far away look on her face. She looked distracted.

"Milady?" Adrianna asked again, unable to keep the note of irritation out of her voice.

Morgana turned and then her face hardened just a little. "Yes," she said, "You've yet to give me my sleeping draught."

Clenching her teeth together, Adrianna picked it up off of Morgana's table and pressed it into her hand. "Is that all?" and that wasn't the proper way to speak to Lady Morgana at all, but she couldn't help herself.

"You're dismissed." There was something in her voice that told her that Morgana could make her life very difficult very easily.

* * *

Adrianna walked into Gaius' chambers knowing she looked miserable. "I hate this," she said wanting to whine a little.

"Yeah, well we might have bigger problems," Merlin said.

Adrianna sometimes hated him. But not really, she thought a second later, because it was in fact impossible to hate Merlin. Because he was Merlin. It was like kicking a puppy. "And what are these so-called bigger problems?" Adrianna sighed.

They didn't pick up on her sarcasm, apparently. Jenny answered, "The King isn't happy."

They were sitting in Gaius' work room as opposed to Merlin's bedroom. Gaius was… somewhere. Adrianna could never keep track of what anyone other than Jenny was doing – there was just too much.

She made a small noise of interest, sinking down into the nearest seat.

Jenny apparently didn't need anymore prompting than that. "He still hasn't captured the sorceresses," she made air quotes here and Merlin looked at her strangely. Jenny didn't notice. "_And_ Arthur didn't bring back the Crystal of Neahtid. He won't find it either, obviously. On top of that, before we came Mordred escaped, right?"

Merlin pressed his lips together unhappily. "Arthur just thinks that the laws on magic might get stricter, that's all," he said. "And the only thing that means is opportunities to get to the Mirror – and to research it, to find out how it works – will be scarce."

Adrianna rubbed at her forehead, smoothing out the wrinkles that were threatening to become a permanent part of her face. "I'm in there everyday! The problem is Morgana never leaves without me. She took away my key," Adrianna admitted quietly, a little ashamed of the fact. "_And_," she added as an afterthought, "the laws on magic don't need to get any stricter, Mr Secret-Warlock."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

She stood and stretched, unable to stay sitting despite her feet killing her. "Do you want food?" she asked, the question directed toward Merlin.

Jenny answered, "Yes, please!"

A few weeks ago, they had tried Jenny cooking. They wouldn't do that again.

It was easy to lose herself in it, to not think about all the things she needed to think about. If she thought about Ninniane, then she thought of the Mirror. If she thought of the Crystal, she thought of the Mirror. If she thought about Morgana, she thought of the Mirror. And if she thought of the Mirror, she thought of home, and her mother and father and Brittany and all of her other shallow friends. She missed the obvious things, running water and her mattress and the Internet. But she missed the little things more, like her Doctor Who poster in her bedroom and the lunch her mom packed for her to go to school with, and _jeans_. Oh God, did she miss her jeans.

The soup, as usual when she made it, turned out slightly watery (it was harder to cook over a fire rather than a stove).

Apparently, while she was lost in the thoughts she didn't want to be thinking but really should be thinking about, it had gotten really quiet. She looked up to see Merlin and Jenny still at the table, their heads bent together, talking about something seriously.

The smile slipped off her face. She wanted to know what they were saying. Briefly, she thought, are they talking about me? But then squashed it because it was arrogant and conceited. There was a small achy feeling somewhere below her ribs. Merlin catching her staring at them didn't make the frown on her face go away, or the feeling in her chest.

* * *

"What did you see?" Jenny asked him quietly, ignoring Adrianna muttering to herself about vegetables and soup, making a racket with the pot and the bowls.

Merlin knew what she was talking about right away but that didn't mean he was going to let her know that. "What?"

"In the Crystal," Jenny hissed, "What did you see?"

Merlin considered lying for a second but so much of his life was spent lying and Jenny had found him with the Crystal at his feet. She deserved to know. And maybe he was self-justifying but… "A woman," he said, leaning toward her slightly, his eyebrows drawing together worriedly, "Morgana and a woman with blonde hair. She was wearing chainmail. And… and magic."

Jenny swallowed with a click. "Morgana? That's why you said you were worried the other day?"

Merlin nodded and watched Jenny flatten her hair absently, not even noticing it now. He shrugged, "So… what do you make of it?"

"What?" Jenny asked, her face confused. "I'm not some all-knowing source, you know! I don't have any idea what's going on either."

Merlin sighed and looked up, sitting back in his chair. Adrianna was staring at them, a hurt look on her face. Merlin tried to smile at her but she turned away to look down at the soup.

* * *

I made the mistake of saying, "Why don't you just smash it?" to Adrianna the next day, when she decided she had nothing better to do than follow me around.

Adrianna made a small choking type of noise – "And if that doesn't work?" she demanded crossly, "You know what we'll have? A bunch of glass shards that won't do anything for anyone."

I leaned back slightly, only glad she hadn't picked up on my accidental use of the word _you_ instead of _we_. "I suppose you're right," I said, shifting the stack of dishes in my hands to a more stable pile. "How would we even know if Guinevere is on the other side anyway?"

"Yes," Adrianna said, "that's what I'm worried about – Gwen. Jenny, you're never any help."

"Thanks," I said. "Just, stay here for a sec, yeah? I've got to…" I nodded toward the tray in my hands.

Adrianna clicked her tongue impatiently and sighed as I knocked on the door.

"You have to go away," I told her. "Do you know how distracting you are? I keep getting yelled at for being late."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring me. "Yes, but seriously, though – the Mirror."

"If that made any sense, I would have an answer for you."

She scowled and then promptly screamed. I whipped around to find a glaring, hyperventilating Adrianna with Arthur standing two or three feet from her. "Uhm….?"

"You!" Adrianna said, pointing a finger at him angrily. "Is there something wrong with you? You can't, like, say something instead of just grabbing my shoulder like that? You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Arthur was frowning. "You can't talk to me like that."

I could feel a headache coming on. Adrianna was beginning a reply, a scowl set on her face when I decided enough was enough. Suppose some random noble decided to walk by and thought that they should tell the King that servants clearly needed to be taught their place? I stomped on her foot. Adrianna swore loudly.

"There is something wrong with _you_," I hissed in her ear. Then I cleared my throat, "Um, Sire? Was there something you wanted?"

He was looking at us like we were at least partially insane, but maybe not in a bad way. I was rapidly becoming used to that look. He drew himself back a little. "Yes," he said, maybe quieter than usual, "You –"

"Adrianna!" It was Morgana's sharp voice that cut through the confusion. She drew level with Arthur, her heels clicking against the stone, "I'm in need of you."

She didn't even look at Arthur or me at all – I nervously flattened my hair. Adrianna looked startled and nervous. "Milady," she said, curtsying and standing hesitantly. Morgana made a gesture as if to say, _don't make me wait on you_, and Adrianna hastened down the hall toward her chambers. I curtsied as well, staying low with my head bent and my heart hammering against my ribs.

"Morgana, what're you doing? You'll frighten the poor thing," I heard Arthur say, half a teasing tone to his voice, half a serious one.

"I require her services right now, Arthur. Surely you can get Merlin to do whatever it is you need? Adrianna has other things to do." Her voice was biting and not playful in any way.

I pictured Arthur's face to be slightly surprised. "Morgana, what's gotten into you? I don't understand."

My calves were beginning to cramp and I hoped this conversation would wrap up a little quicker. Lady Morgana's voice was too low for me to catch what she said next, but a moment later I heard her heels clicking away and Arthur called, "Morgana!"

I straightened gladly – why did males only have to bow while females had to curtsy? It was _painful_. Somehow I think I would've been told, 'you're not doing it right, then,' if I had actually mentioned this to anyone. But maybe not. I didn't actually know.

"I never understand anything she says," Arthur said, watching her turn a corner. Then he turned back to me. "Right," he said, "I may not actually know what you're doing here but I do know that you're being unnecessarily obvious about it to the point of stupidity."

"It's not anything harmful," I said automatically, "I promise. I know that doesn't mean anything but –"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't think it was. But that doesn't mean that it won't get you in trouble."

I sighed. "How did you know anyway?"

Arthur smirked slightly. "I heard you talking about a mirror and mirrors are pretty rare. Why do you need one, anyway?"

"I doesn't matter," I said, looking down. "I'm sorry – we'll be quieter about it in the future."

He was staring at me like he didn't quite know what to say (another look I was becoming acquainted with more and more often). "And thank you," I said suddenly because the thought had just occurred to me, "for not …" I trailed off because I didn't know how to finish the sentence. I wasn't sure if I should finish the sentence at all.

His face tightened and he took a step back, though we weren't really close to begin with.

The footsteps caught me by surprise but it didn't surprise me that it was Merlin coming up the steps with a huge tray – I knew we were somewhere near Arthur's chambers. He stopped at the sight of us and I couldn't help my face turning red though it had no reason to. He gave us a suspicious look.

"What are you doing?" he said, glancing between us and then at the empty tray in my hands.

"Nothing," I said at the same time Arthur said, "Finally, _Mer_lin, my chambers are a complete disaster!"

* * *

The big need of Lady Morgana's was her laundry, Adrianna thought sarcastically (because if she couldn't be rude out loud, she was certainly going to be rude in her head). She was piling dresses neatly in the hamper, careful not to wrinkle anything too badly. Morgana also had a pile she said needed mending and that Adrianna shouldn't bother bringing it down to the seamstress' because Morgana was sure she could do an adequate job herself. Adrianna had never so much as sewn her skirt when it ripped.

Recently, she thought as she lugged one of the heavy baskets down to the laundress', she decided that life was way too complicated. Of course not as complicated as _hers_ because most people didn't go back in time through a Magic Mirror to a place where magic happens to be banned on penalty of death.

It wouldn't be so bad if Brittany were with her, or her mom, or anyone but Jenny.

Jenny was nice, genuinely caring, and a little clumsy. But she was also very selfish. Adrianna couldn't believe that she could even _contemplate_ staying here. And no matter how Adrianna teased her, her little crush on Prince Arthur was really kind of unhealthy and – well, it just wasn't good to develop attachments like that.

Plus – why did Jenny get someone to rely on anyway? Why didn't Adrianna have anyone like that? It wasn't fair.

She fumbled with the second basket after taking the first downstairs. Morgana was staring at the Mirror, running her fingers over the metal frame. "Yes?" she asked coldly when she caught Adrianna staring. "Is there something you needed Adrianna?"

Adrianna swallowed hard saying, "No, milady," and bent her head over the basket.

* * *

Morgana was scared – more afraid of anything than she'd ever been in her entire life. Usually she prided herself on her bravery, especially as a woman seeing as most men thought them rather delicate. She didn't know if she could be brave regarding this.

It was _magic_.

She knew it was, regardless of what Gaius told her. She didn't have anyone else to go to. Gwen was gone and Gaius was telling her that it was just her nightmare and _I'll give you something stronger_. She didn't want anything stronger. She wanted to know what was wrong with her and how to make it stop.

It started with the dreams of course. She could see the future – and she shuddered physically at the thought - flashes of faces that turned up the next day, the results of tournaments. She couldn't help but think of Sophia. Arthur told her she'd been wrong but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more going on.

Then the magic started. She convinced herself that she wasn't going insane. It was _magic_. It started small. She woke up from a dream – one of the dreams that she knew she'd revisit in her waking hours – and screamed of Gwen, and the vase on her bedside table shattered into a thousand pieces all over the floor.

Gwen hadn't come of course. No one came. And, even if she wanted to, even if she could, she couldn't go to Arthur because he was away finding the Crystal of Neahtid.

She told herself she'd screamed so loudly the glass cracked.

But it happened again and again and again until she hid all of her breakables in the cupboard and locked it. Then there was the fire. It was only small, recently. The candle on the table was lit when it shouldn't have been – she questioned Adrianna on it but she swore she hadn't touched it. Then she hid the candles, too.

It scared her because she didn't have any idea what could happen next.

* * *

Adrianna had caught her looking at the Mirror. She didn't even know why she was looking at it. Sometimes it felt like there was something more to it. And recently she'd been dreaming of a woman with blonde hair wearing chainmail. Morgana didn't know who she was or what she was supposed to be doing in Camelot, but she did know that whatever it was would happen soon.

She snatched her hand away. "Do you need something Adrianna?"

Adrianna dropped her gaze to the laundry basket, "No milady. Are you… I mean – are you all right?"

Morgana stared at her for a moment, swallowing. "Yes, I'm fine."

Adrianna nodded, standing stiffly and curtsying awkwardly before backing out the door.

Morgana sighed, resting her forehead against the cool Mirror. She could swear sometimes that she could hear whispers and feel something familiar, just out of reach.

Adrianna dropped the basket of clothes heavily on the floor in Merlin's bedroom, fighting tears. She didn't even know why she was crying. She hadn't cried since the night she and Jenny found themselves locked in the dungeons – bearing of course the Dragon Incident where she thought she had a perfectly justifiable excuse.

She didn't have a thimble or a needle or any thread, either. For some reason this was why she slumped to the ground and leaned against Merlin's bed and started crying in earnest.

Apparently she was noisy, because the next thing she knew Gaius was knocking on the door and then entering. She covered her face with her hands.  
"Why are you crying?" he asked, coming over and perching on the bed.

Adrianna hiccoughed, trying to breath properly. "I don't have a thimble," she said.

Gaius sighed and patted her head and she attempted to calm herself down.

* * *

It was the next morning that everything decided to come crashing down. Adrianna was standing behind Morgana, filling her cup with wine and Jenny was quietly serving the King (and Adrianna thought, Oh, poor Jenny. Why would they pick her for this?), trying not to shake so badly she dropped the platter. Merlin was standing somewhere as far back as possible, pretending to pay attention while generally not paying attention at all.

Adrianna hadn't slept well at all, Jenny simultaneously hogging the blankets and being half on top of her. Adrianna would suggest they sleep head to foot if she didn't think she'd wind up with a face full of Jenny's feet (so, so gross – feet were disgusting).

She was tired. As a result, when the doors banged open, she jumped so badly the wine jug knocked right out of her hands and splashed down the front of Lady Morgana's dress.

She was about to apologise frantically when King Uther himself stood up with Arthur at his side and drew his sword. "What is the meaning of this?" he bellowed.

A woman with knotted blonde hair and wearing a gown of chainmail stepped forward. Two knights rushed in after her. She unbuckled the gauntlet clasped around her wrist and threw it down at Uther's feet.

"We tried to stop her, my Lord but—" one of the knights – Sir Leon, if Adrianna remembered correctly – said and he looked slightly ashamed.

"Silence," Uther commanded. "A woman cannot issue a challenge." And then, "Who are you?"

The woman smiled and shifted, her chainmail clinking. "My name is Morgause."

And then Jenny really did drop the platter.


	15. A Deceptive Mirror

_Author's Note:_

Hallo! Um, this is late. By, like, a whole week. I blame me getting my wisdom teeth out. That is all. Also, my schedule went to hell. Well, that was quick. Will still try and get everything finished. Anyway, moving on!

We're getting into the thick of things now :) And that's exciting. I suppose I should get on with it...

_Warnings_: spoilers for series one and two of Merlin, spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White  
_Disclaimer_: I don't own anything besides this story, Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and Brittany and any other OC you happen across. Anything recognisable isn't mine.

All right-y! Thank you to **sarahelizabeth1993**, **Magi's Merlin**, **Wren Hightower**, and **Setari** for reviewing the last chapter! *loves* And also thanks to Wren Hightower for the beta! You're always super quick with it which is lovely :)

Okay - if you have any questions on this chapter and why I did what I did, I shall be happy to answer any of them :)

Read, review, and enjoy! (A note on the title at the bottom).

* * *

**- Chapter Fifteen: A Deceptive Mirror -**

There was _nothing_ completely, totally, perfectly normal about Adrianna's day. At all.

This was mostly due to the fact that she was _freaking out_. Jenny had totally called this, she thought, the scene in the hall playing back behind her eyes again. She wasn't sure what any of this meant for the Mirror – whether it would be easier or harder or why Morgause didn't take it with her when she left. She wasn't sure what this meant for Morgana and her place in this world or what it said about magic and the future. She wasn't sure about anything.

Maybe, Adrianna thought, sliding down the cold, stone wall to the floor, real life was a little more like the legend than they'd originally thought.

* * *

There was a very tense silence in the hall and the King turned to look at Jenny, who'd dropped the platter of food all over the floor with a clang. "Well, pick it up you stupid girl," he snapped before turning back to Morgause.

Jenny bent down, her face beet red, and tried to clean up.

Adrianna's heart was trying valiantly to calm itself down when she remembered she'd spilled wine down the front of Morgana's dress. She glanced down at her lady but Morgana seemed to be preoccupied, staring at Morgause dressed in chainmail, her hair knotted, and gripping a sword in her right hand.

"Nonsense," Uther said and Adrianna zoned back in. "A woman cannot issue a challenge."

"Why not?" Morgana asked suddenly, standing. "It's clearly not a lack of skill – she managed to get past every guard in the city, didn't she?"

Adrianna yearned to point out that this wasn't always completely difficult. If Jenny managed it at night without any magic whatsoever, than this Morgause woman (who Adrianna was positive she'd heard of somewhere before) would certainly have no problem doing it. Uther clearly needed to invest in better guards – or at the very least train the night guards properly.

Arthur's face was the picture of exasperation as he was standing up, and Uther was staring at Morgana in what looked like half astonishment and half anger. "Morgana—"

But Morgause was looking at her too. And she stepped back, a polite smile crossing her features. "I retract the challenge then," she said, picking up the gauntlet. "I was merely looking for someone worthy to test my skills on, and of course who better than King Uther?" There was something wrong with her smile.

Uther's face relaxed just a little but his stance was still defensive. "Perhaps - you could stay a while, in Camelot. Be our guest."

It wasn't really a question but Morgause nodded anyway, a wide smile on her face. "I'd be honoured, Sire."

* * *

Morgana didn't want Adrianna anywhere near her and she didn't have any clue why. Adrianna tried telling herself it was because she'd spilled wine down her front but although Morgana was becoming increasingly unfair, she didn't seem all that upset about it.

She was trying to occupy herself, mostly. Adrianna carried all of Arthur's armour that Merlin kept piled in the corner of the room up the stairs, holed herself up in Merlin's bedroom, and started polishing, waiting for either Jenny or Merlin to come back from kitchen duty and serving Arthur.

She really did think about finishing mending Morgana's dresses but the pinpricks in her fingers made her reconsider. It didn't seem like Morgana was in any hurry for them anyway. She was very preoccupied with Morgause. If Adrianna wasn't almost one hundred percent sure they hadn't, she would have said they'd met before – were close, even.

But she was sure.

Her hands were red and sore by the time Merlin and Jenny came in together, their faces worried. "Am I missing something again?" Adrianna said coldly, refusing to lift her gaze from the armour.

They quieted and Merlin dropped to the floor, surprising her. Jenny sat gingerly on the bed. "It's not our fault you come to sulk in here all alone. You wouldn't miss half the things you think we aren't telling you if you didn't."

To prevent herself from gaping at Jenny – because who was _this_? This wasn't Jenny. Jenny didn't tell people off – she bit the inside of her lip, scrubbing at the armour angrily. Merlin pried it from beneath her fingers and she glared at him. "Would you quit it?" he asked exasperatedly. "It's easier if I … you know… no need to do that to your hands."

Adrianna actually didn't know what he was talking about but nodded anyway, hiding her hands in her pockets. They felt raw.

She managed to prevent her voice from cracking when she said, "So what's the big crisis now? Another un-dead knight or… I don't know – another goddess of life and death? Who's Morgause?"

She was asking Jenny, of course. After all, she was the resident expert on all things King Arthur, Adrianna thought bitterly. It surprised her that Merlin was the one who answered. "Jenny said before, remember? She was the one in your legends who… Arthur… You know, Mordred?"

That was possibly the worst explanation Adrianna had ever been given and she told him so. But Merlin was too busy blushing to go into any further detail. "Arthur's half sister but he didn't know that," Jenny picked up, "and they had Mordred together because they were ignorant – or at least Arthur was. Morgause wasn't always. This was in the legend though. I think it's pretty safe to say that Mordred definitely isn't Arthur's child here. And pretty safe to say that Morgause isn't his half sister."

Merlin nodded, "Uh, yeah pretty safe."

Adrianna had to wonder where the hell their policy on not telling Merlin any more than he absolutely needed to know went. Apparently out the window.

"So… what's she doing here, then?" Adrianna asked.

Jenny glared at her, "You two have seemingly got it in your heads that I'm, like, a seer or something. I'm not! I don't know anything either, except what I know from home, okay? That's it."

Adrianna bit her lip, and because she needed to be doing something, pulled Morgana's basket of clothes toward her, pulling the thimble from her pocket and sighing. "Well, magic then? Does she have magic?"

"Probably," Jenny said glumly. "You know what I really think?" she asked suddenly, standing and pacing. "I think that _Morgana's_ the reason Morgause is here. She was Arthur's half sister too, right? Sometimes it's even her who's portrayed as Mordred's mother. What if Morgause isn't related to Arthur but _is_ related to Morgana in some way?"

She stopped pacing, looking at them like she was waiting for one of them to pronounce her crazy and be done with it.

"I can believe that," Merlin said, grabbing the needle and thread and fabric from Adrianna automatically as she pricked herself for the third time despite the thimble, and hiding it behind his back where she couldn't reach. "I mean about Morgana being kind of like Mordred's mother. They had… a bond."

"Yes, yes, yes," Jenny said absently, chewing on her thumbnail. "But Morgause? Do you think she could be here because of Morgana? Because of her…" and Jenny dropped her voice to a whisper even though they were pretty secure in Merlin's room, "because of her magic?"

"But we don't know for sure she has magic," Merlin argued, slapping Adrianna's hand away when she reached for the dress, "she sees the future is all we know."

Glaring and picking at her fingernails instead, Adrianna said, "I'm pretty sure she does," which surprised even herself. "I –I mean," she stuttered, sighing, "she's been doing odd things lately – hiding all the glass vases in a cupboard and locking it, all of the candles have disappeared, I found all her potions under her bed the other day and she hadn't taken any of them. She was – yesterday she had her ear pressed up against the Mirror, like she could hear something." Adrianna swallowed thickly before looking back down at her hands. "What if – what if the Mirror does other things, too?"

They were staring at her now - she could feel it. "It's more than just missing Gwen," she stated. "I don't think she and Morgause have met before today but they seem pretty familiar, regardless, don't they? I think that Jenny might be right."

Jenny was smiling just a little when Adrianna met her gaze and she felt a recognizable flutter of jealousy – that Jenny was so, so comfortable here – flit through her stomach and she forced herself to continue. "I may not know what magic looks like or feels like but I'm pretty sure, almost positive, that Morgana has it. She has magic."

* * *

Adrianna didn't mean to – it was an accident. Well, no, okay it wasn't. Still, she didn't mean to hear what she heard.

She'd just meant to look at the Mirror. She just wanted to see. The problem was that if they cracked it even a little bit, she thought, running her fingers up the frame, the whole thing would shatter. Mirrors were like that. She found that out the hard way when she and her parents moved when she was seven. Seven years of bad luck, her dad had told her, trying not to make a bigger mess with the glass, cracks weaved through it like spider webs.

That was when she heard the footsteps and the talking. She definitely was allowed to be in Morgana's room, as her maid, right? She thought as she scrambled into the only unlocked wardrobe in the room. This was not rational behaviour, she thought again, a second later as she pulled the door almost shut, remembering the advice from _The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe_ about not shutting it all the way. That thought was so absurd at the moment she had to clamp her hand around her mouth to muffle the hysterical giggles that threatened to escape.

Morgana and Morgause entered and Adrianna fought to quiet her breathing. Underneath the worry, a small part of her was wondering why King Uther just let Morgause wander around like that after making a fool of his knights and his guards, especially around his ward.

She was dressed in trousers and a shirt that looked too big for her. Her hair was still in knots but she looked a little softer and more feminine without the chainmail and armour and sword. As quietly as she could, Adrianna slid down to the floor of the wardrobe, pulling her legs to her chest.

They were talking quietly and if Adrianna strained her ears she could just make out what they were saying.

"You don't sleep well," Morgause said, fondly, affectionately, almost like she was speaking to a child, someone who was definitely younger than her. Like she was responsible for Morgana.

Through the crack, Adrianna saw Morgana shake her head slightly, fingering the top of her dress. "I have nightmares," she said, like she knew she was really saying _I see the future_.

And Adrianna shouldn't be listening to this. It was private. But she couldn't very well block her ears so she screwed her eyes shut instead, pressing her forehead to her knees.

"I know," Morgause whispered, and Adrianna imagined her touching Morgana's shoulder comfortingly or maybe her face. "Here," she said after a moment and she handed Morgana something. The angle wasn't right – Adrianna couldn't see what it was. "It will help you to sleep."

"Thank you," Morgana said, "But I couldn't accept something like this –"

"You will," Morgause said with a smile, "you're – you must accept it."

Morgana nodded and Morgause looked as though she was about to step back and leave before Morgana called after her. "Wait," she said hesitantly, "wait. What – can you – do you know about this Mirror?"

And that was it. Adrianna's heart felt like it was going to beat right through her chest.

"Yes," Morgause said stepping forward, her hand trailing the frame just like Adrianna's had only a few minutes ago. "This Mirror is special. You know this?"

Morgana nodded again, more confidently now. "Recently. I only noticed recently. It… does it have magic? Like you and… me?"

Adrianna could see Morgause was smiling and she felt sick to her stomach. "Yes," she said again. "The Mirror does things. It's enchanted. It's been enchanted since it was set."

"What can it do?" Morgana asked.

Morgause turned back to her so that Adrianna couldn't see her face in the Mirror's reflection anymore. "It can do a lot of things," she said. "It is a powerful scrying Mirror, for example."

"Scrying?"

"Yes - to see the present, the future, the past through a medium. Normally one requires magic but this Mirror is strong enough on its own. That is why you feel so drawn to it."

Adrianna tried to imagine Morgana's face and couldn't. Whatever expression she was wearing, it made Morgause say, "Magic is not the enemy." It was a soft reassurance and even though Adrianna knew this was true, it had to be true because Merlin used magic and Merlin would never, ever hurt anyone, it still felt like a lie. "It's how it's used, Morgana. There's nothing wrong with you."

Morgana sighed and turned with Morgause as she made her way to the door. "Can it do other things?"

"Many other things," Morgause answered with a glance toward the wardrobe where Adrianna was hiding that made her heart rate double. "It's a very powerful mirror."

They stood for a moment, looking at each other and Morgause brushed Morgana's long hair out of her face warmly – like a sister would, Adrianna realised, like a best friend, like Brittany used to do to her, laughing that she needed to take better care of it.

"Morgana, you can do this," Morgause said. "You can prove to everyone that you're more than you look. Tonight."

Morgana nodded again, smiling, her left hand playing with something on her wrist. Adrianna couldn't tell what it was.

"Tonight," Morgana answered, Morgause's boots clicking against the stone as she left.

Adrianna didn't dare move, watching Morgana retrace her steps back to her spot in front of the Mirror. Then she asked herself, "Were you watching me?"

Adrianna didn't know what she meant.

* * *

Despite the fact that her legs didn't feel like they'd hold her, five minutes after Morgana left her chambers, Adrianna bolted up and stumbled out of the room as fast as she could without looking like she was slightly crazed.

She knew what they were going to do tonight. She didn't have a clue how she knew, but she did. It was comparable to when you're reading a really good book and you think, _wouldn't it be interesting if…,_ and then that thing happens a bit further on and you're like, _I totally called that_. Normally, she thought, that didn't happen in real life. Because real life wasn't like fiction books where you could just predict all the little twists and turns from foreshadowing.

But Adrianna knew.

They were going to tell Uther about Morgana's magic.

Okay, she thought, so maybe they wouldn't _tell_ him – they'd probably make a big spectacle out of it all, which would be _worse!_ Because then Morgana wouldn't even be able to deny it.

Adrianna was thinking so hard that when she turned the corner and knocked right into George (the tray flying right out of his hands and sailing toward the high ceiling), she picked herself up and kept going, ignoring his yelling behind her.

She was on her way to find Jenny or Merlin or … someone who could stop Morgana from making such a stupid decision, because Adrianna knew she couldn't.

She slowed down when she approached the kitchens, rubbing her elbow that she'd knocked into the floor when she fell. Was it such a bad idea, though?

Morgana was _so_ unhappy with her life. She looked like she was constantly scared and she obviously didn't feel like she could talk to anyone about it. Maybe she couldn't. And was Morgause really so bad after all? She didn't _seem_ to want to hurt anyone… Adrianna bit her lip, pausing outside the door to the kitchens.

If she just didn't say anything at all, then Morgana could be happy, right? Morgause would end up taking her away and they'd leave Camelot alone? Would they? She didn't know.

"I need to get through," someone said rudely behind her. She turned to see a servant girl several feet shorter than her with really long hair. "Can you please move?"

"Sorry May," Adrianna said weakly as the girl's glare doubled and she moved passed her. Adrianna followed her into the kitchens, seeing Jenny bent over a tub of water. "Hi," she said, coming level with her.

Jenny sighed, "Hi. How's … you know?"

"Lady Morgana?" Adrianna asked unnecessarily and then took a deep breath. "She's fine."

* * *

Adrianna didn't know why she didn't see it all coming. She'd even compared it to fairytales and foreshadowing, but foreshadowing only really tells you what's going to happen, not why or how or if there were going to be terrible consequences because you failed to speak up.

Jenny wasn't even present when it happened – the king wanted to dine with just Arthur and Morgana and their guest Morgause. Merlin was there, standing behind Arthur and looking as worried as he ever looked in public, and Adrianna was there, standing behind Morgana, trying to ignore the way Morgause kept looking at her. It was making her nervous. And because it was making her nervous, it made her look at Merlin for support and she was pretty sure he was wondering what the hell she was thinking because on the outside, nothing was wrong. _He_ didn't know Morgause was planning something because Adrianna hadn't told anyone. And every time she thought about that she had to stop herself from squeaking out loud. Because what if Morgause wasn't able to stop Uther from hurting Morgana?

Adrianna didn't think she'd ever been so clumsy in her life. She was worse than Merlin, worse than Jenny, even. It was getting to the point where even Arthur was looking at her like there was something wrong.

Yeah, well, she decided childishly (viciously, she told herself,) she hated Arthur because it absolutely wasn't fair that Jenny got someone and she didn't. Where was her prince?

That seemed to be the moment when everything went to hell – when she was deciding she hated Arthur for petty reasons.

Adrianna didn't end up hearing the words Morgause muttered because she was at the other end of the table, but she did hear Morgana gasp. It was so loud the entire table heard it.

Arthur leaned forward, closer to her. "Morgana?"

She shook her head, eyes wide.

It was impossible to miss it – her eyes were glowing golden.

And then several things happened at once. Uther and Arthur were on their feet in a second and Adrianna stumbled back, tripping over her own feet as Uther pushed his chair back abruptly. Somehow in all the confusion she heard Merlin gasp loudly. A wine glass shattered.

There were swords drawn as Adrianna tried to pick herself up off the ground. They had Morgause cornered with Arthur at her left and Uther at her right, the blade of his sword touching the skin of her neck.

The frightening part of it all, Adrianna thought, backing up out of the way of everyone, was that Morgause was standing there with a stoic, serious look on her face, like she wanted to be amused but couldn't be bothered. Morgana was clutching the wooden table, still gasping, seemingly able to breathe but only just.

"What've you done to her?" Uther demanded. "Reverse it immediately!"

Morgause allowed a smile to slide across her face. "I've done nothing, Uther. It's only your petty, ignorant ways that have hurt Morgana."

That was when the table caught fire, sparking and quickly licking across the surface. Morgana pushed herself away, looking horrified and confused and like she suddenly understood what Morgause had been talking about earlier. "It's me," she said, "I'm doing it!" And she looked half-surprised, half-terrified that she was saying anything at all.

"Morgana –" Arthur started.

The doors burst open and the guards rushed in. The commotion and the yelling must have been loud enough for them to hear.

Adrianna couldn't keep up with what was happening, torn between pressing herself as flat against the wall as possible and rushing to put out the fire. It left her frozen in the middle, not having enough eyes to be able to see or good enough hearing to distinguish between the different voices.

Uther was shouting about magic, commanding Morgause to reverse whatever she'd done to Morgana.

"I can't," Morgause said, "This is her magic. It was only a gentle push I gave it."

"You're lying!" Uther roared, swinging his sword deftly at her. Morgause unsheathed her sword so quickly that Adrianna didn't even see it, and countered. She wasn't lying – she was good.

Adrianna did back herself against the wall now, afraid of the swords. The guards were busy being useless, half of them standing their watching the fighting unfold and the other unsuccessfully trying to put out the fire, which was threatening to spread.

Morgana was yelling at them to stop and Adrianna could see Merlin had gone over to her, trying to calm her down, holding her back from going toward Uther or Arthur.

But then Morgause was there, pulling her from Merlin roughly. "What are you –" he said, his face twisting into an uncharacteristic, angry expression and Adrianna's heart clenched for a moment, scared he'd out himself in the heat of the moment.

Morgause pulled Morgana close to her, protective, and it looked strange because Morgana was taller. Arthur moved forward, looking angry that Morgause even dared touch Morgana, but the hilt of his sword glowed red-hot in his hand in time with the flash of Morgana's eyes and this time no one missed it.

In the next second, there was a horrible, terrible wind sweeping across the chamber. It engulfed them, wrapping around the pair like a glove. Adrianna's hair whipped around her face painfully and she tried to shield her eyes with her arm. When it finally died down, she was panting like she'd run some distance and Morgana and Morgause were gone.

It was the loudest silence that Adrianna had ever heard; the only sound was the fire, crackling.

* * *

She slid down the wall to the floor.

Only after she was sitting did Adrianna realise that she had no idea where she was. Uther had sworn them all to secrecy on pain of death and Adrianna had thought – another secret? I can't do that.

And they'd left. Or Adrianna had left. Merlin was… somewhere – with Arthur, probably. They all must be really upset, she thought, closing her eyes and letting her head fall against the stone with a clunk (and that accomplished nothing because now she had a headache as well).

She was in a room she was sure she wasn't supposed to be in. What she really wanted was to be sitting in front of the Mirror, just looking. Or really, even better than that – someone to talk to who would understand. But Jenny didn't and that was their whole problem.

She hadn't seen Jenny since that morning and going back to Merlin's room didn't feel like an option currently.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, her mind unusually blank, but she was aware of dusk settling outside when the door opened and Merlin peeked in.

"Hi," he said, dropping down to sit cross-legged in front of her.

She looked at him, felt her brows furrowing, thought about how she once would have rubbed at her forehead to make herself stop and prevent wrinkles, and sighed very heavily. "Hey."

"You've very possibly driven Jenny insane with worry."

"I don't like Jenny right now."

There was a moment of silence in which he moved to sit beside her, his side pressed up against hers. She felt herself tense involuntarily and forced herself not to move away.

"Are you all right? Because you look a little… I don't know. Off," Merlin said, concerned. Adrianna thought she might look off – be off – because for some reason she found herself staring at his lips.

He was still talking, "… it's not _your_ fault, you know –"

And then suddenly, she was kissing him with absolutely no memory of how she got there or giving herself permission to do such a thing – she just slotted her mouth over his, her hands coming up to grasp at his shoulders.

After a few seconds, she realised he wasn't kissing back and had turned his face away slightly. She clenched her teeth together angrily and pushed away from him, frustrated tears in her eyes, "Why –?"

Merlin glared at her. "Because you don't like me like that, Adrianna. And I don't feel like that for you either."

She wanted –

Because it _was_ her fault. It was. It was. It was. It was.

She looked up at the ceiling because it was better than looking at his face, and pressed her lips into a thin line. "No," she said, proud that her voice only hitched once, "I don't. You're right."

He pulled at her arm and she jerked out of his grip. "I'd really rather not, thanks," she tried to say coldly.

Merlin looked slightly hurt and said, "You're being stupid," and she ended up with her forehead resting on his shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm not," she said in a rush her voice muffled through tears, "and Jenny has Arthur, right, and you probably like her too because you're, like, the same and it's not fair because I don't have anyone and now I don't even have Morgana and it's my fault because I didn't tell you and I really just want to go home –" she hiccoughed.

She was fairly sure he only managed to understand parts of this but that was what it was supposed to sound like.

She hiccoughed again. "And I'm being stupid," she said, lifting her face to look at him.

Merlin grimaced. "A little," he admitted.

"Right," she said, standing up and furiously scrubbing at her face with the sleeve of her dress. "This never happened. If you tell Jenny, I will beat you slowly and painfully to death and don't even think you can pull the magic over my eyes, mister, because I can tell you right now that you can't."

Merlin smiled, looking like he was holding back a laugh, and got to his feet himself. "That's okay," he said, "I'm pretty good with secrets."

* * *

The title was taken from this quote:_ "An example is often a deceptive mirror, and the order of destiny, so troubling to our thoughts, is not always found written in things past."_ by Pierre Corneille. It's supposed to reference Adrianna and Morgana and Morgause's reliance on the Mirror. Thanks for reading! :)


	16. An Ill Made Knight

_Author's Note:_

Gah! This took me _forever!_ This chapter gave me serious problems guys. But, I'm back and there are only four chapters left! (Plus an Epilogue!) Are you excited? What do you think's going to happen? :D

Thank you, thank you, thank you to **Wren Hightowerfor betaing this mess and making it readable and to Magi's Merlin** for listing to me whine. And of course to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: **Catindahat**, **sarahelizabeth1993**, **thebloodrose**, and **J.T.A**. Thank you so, so much *heart* :)

You're all either going to love this chapter or hate it. That's all I'm saying :)

_Disclaimer: _I own nothing! Except for Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and Brittany and any other original character you might happen across. :D  
_Warnings: _Spoilers for s1 and s2 of Merlin, and Spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White.

And, I've kept you waiting long enough! So here it is :)

Read, review, and enjoy!

* * *

**- Chapter Sixteen: An Ill-Made Knight -**

There was nothing completely, totally, perfectly normal about Merlin's day. At all.

Well, actually, he'd had stranger days. But usually weird equaled dangerous and, remarkably, that wasn't the case this time (baring Morgana having disappeared with Morgause, and Merlin didn't really like to think about that because it left a hollow feeling somewhere in the vicinity of his ribs).

Perhaps it was the fact that at least ninety percent of his days were strange that this seemed so strange. Weird was apparently normal and normal was apparently weird. And now he had a headache.

* * *

I was outside when it happened. Until then Adrianna and I had gotten off lucky, I supposed. Ever since Morgana and the Crystal and us escaping the dungeons Uther's grudge against magic had grown exponentially. I hated to think how big it was now, because it was already overwhelming when Adrianna and I got here.

From what I gathered from Merlin he was refusing to believe it was Morgana who had the magic, thinking that Morgause that done something to her instead to make her believe it.

I had to look away when the axe fell and I shuddered, wanting to throw up.

"I wonder if this is something you get used to," Adrianna asked beside me, her eyes on the stain of blood across the stone. It was like driving down the road and seeing an accident, feeling your curiosity telling you to look when you're thinking it's terrible. But you look anyway. I just felt sick thinking about who might have to clean that up. She went on, apparently not requiring an answer. "Because it doesn't seem like it. When Owain died, and Pellinor, it felt the same. It's almost worse right now."

I looked at her and grabbed her hand, "But you're not crying."

"No," she agreed curiously.

* * *

It wasn't a pleasant start to the day. Adrianna was quiet. Merlin was quiet. Gaius was quiet. I fidgeted in my seat as we ate dinner that night, wanting to say something but my mind drawing a blank.

Also? The soup Merlin had made was disgusting.

It was so quiet that when there was a quiet knock on the door I jumped violently, splashing the soup down my front. Adrianna couldn't hold in her laugh. "You're hilarious," I told her, standing and setting the bowl upright as Merlin went to answer. Even Gaius was smiling that smile that told me he was thinking, not again. I sighed.

Then there was a small crash in the area of the door. We all turned to see Merlin smiling, his face trying to say what? Nothing to see over here… and leaning his back against the door, suspiciously looking like he'd just slammed it in the face of whoever was on the other side.

"Is that Arthur?" Adrianna asked, looking at him like he'd grown an extra head, "Because I know you forgot to clean his chainmail yesterday. Isn't it easier to do it rather than try to avoid him afterward? Because I'm pretty sure if that was him, he knows you're in here."

Merlin laughed nervously. "I'll be right back."

And then he slipped out the door, opening it just enough for him to shimmy through.  
I glanced at Adrianna to find a resigned look on her face and then at Gaius to find the exact same look on his face. I wondered why they seemed to expect this so much more from Merlin than I did.

"That's normal, right?" I asked, just to make sure.

"No," Gaius answered, looking pretty unconcerned by the whole thing. I felt my stomach drop.

"He usually doesn't give any warning at all."

"Oh."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Merlin hissed. "If Arthur sees you he's going to beat me then he's going to kill you because apparently you're an idiot."

Lancelot, who was standing in front of him thanks very much, who was as good as banished from Camelot – self-imposed banishment or not – frowned, "A very warm welcome, Merlin. Thank you."

Merlin sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean –"

But Lancelot held his hand up. "I heard about Lady Morgana's kidnapping –" this was the part where Merlin's stomach decided to twist up dramatically, " – and thought that Guinevere – I mean Gwen – she might… not that she doesn't have you and all but…"

Oh, God. Why did things like this have to happen to him?

That was the moment Adrianna's ability to restrain her curiosity decided to break as well, as she opened the door and peaked out, glancing at them and frowning. "Oh, so it's not Arthur."

Merlin sighed.

They decided to continue the conversation inside (where Merlin met Gaius' very disapproving eyebrow and a gesture that clearly said, whatever happens, I'm not responsible) and Jenny glanced up, looking confused.

"Um, we have to have a bit of a talk," Merlin said reluctantly, hoping that they'd just follow him into his bedroom.

Lancelot did, looking possibly more confused than Jenny and infinitely more worried. Adrianna looked bored (and was shameless apparently, because even Merlin could tell that she was eyeing Lancelot with interest. He grimaced.)

Their usual little triangle formation, with Merlin on the bed and the two girls on the floor, was really more of a square now as Adrianna shoved him over and Lancelot stayed standing.

"Merlin, should I be asking why you have two servant girls staying with you?" Lancelot asked hesitantly.

"Um, excuse me," Adrianna interrupted rudely, "and just who are you?"

Jenny was chewing on her thumbnail, looking like she didn't really want this to break out into an argument. But Merlin supposed it was better to get this done and over with before anything worse happened.

"This is Adrianna," he said pointing to her. She glared at Lancelot, her earlier attraction seeming to have disappeared. "And that's Jenny over there." Jenny removed her thumb from her mouth and smiled hesitantly. "This is," he sighed, "Lancelot?" And it definitely sounded like a question. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for an explosion from the corner of the room Jenny was sitting in. When nothing happened and Jenny was silent he carefully squinted into the room.

Jenny was staring at Lancelot with her mouth very much gaping, her expression half awe and half disgust. Merlin wasn't sure how she managed it. Then he looked over to Adrianna who had her head in her hands and was shaking violently. For a second Merlin was afraid she was crying again but as she made a muffled sound he realised in horror she was laughing. Lancelot shifted uncomfortably in the middle, disbelief on his face.

"Er," Merlin said, staring at Lancelot now. "You know that thing that I can do that we don't talk about?" he asked. "Well… they're from the future and we don't talk about that either."

It took Lancelot a moment. "Things are never, ever easy with you, are they?" he asked. Merlin just shrugged.

* * *

The first thing out of my mouth when I regained the ability to use it was, "But you're pretty."

Everyone stared at me and I felt myself flush.

And the second thing that came out of my mouth was, "You're supposed to be really ugly."

It didn't help me and now in addition to extreme embarrassment I also felt the need to sew my lips shut. Instead I said, "I'm going to stop talking now."

"… Right." Merlin said, looking away from me and at Lancelot. "You might want to sit down. What's happened since you left isn't exactly easy to explain."

Lancelot hesitantly sat on the floor and crossed his legs and Merlin launched into the entire tale, starting with Guinevere's disappearance and ending with Morgana's. He was honest about most things but there were parts he left out – like almost the entire story about the Crystal of Neahtid. This, I figured, was a very good picture of Merlin lying, which he must do quite often.

Adrianna looked unhappy, her arms crossed over her chest in an almost sulky way. I didn't understand but I rarely did.

"So," Merlin said, finishing and twisting his hands together. "You see… Gwen's not here either."

"I think he got that, Merlin," Adrianna said helpfully. "If it makes you feel any better Lance –" and that, I thought, was just wrong. No. No nicknames. "We're almost positive she's fine. Jenny's friend would have taken care of her when she found her. Lyssa's a bit emotionally repressed but she's not mean."

I had nothing helpful to contribute to the conversation. I was still trying to beat my brain into accepting that it was actually Lancelot sitting in front of me. You'd think that this would get easier over time but it didn't.

"Are we going to have to hide you too?" I asked instead of voicing this because Merlin had also left out anything about the legend in our time.

Merlin ran a hand through his hair and it left a tuft sticking up. "I don't know. Maybe you should just lay low until I … warn? Arthur?" he asked and Lancelot nodded.

"It seems I didn't really have a very good reason for coming anyway." And he sighed.

Merlin's expression softened a little bit. "We've almost figured it out," he said, "how to get her back."

"I'm glad then," Lancelot agreed.

"Me too!" Adrianna announced.

* * *

Apparently Lancelot had helped Merlin to defeat a stray Griffin that was all set to attack Camelot, which was why he knew about Merlin's magic. Gaius knew about it because Merlin had saved his life when he first arrived – I remember him telling Adrianna and I the story. We knew about it because we were from the future. Why didn't Arthur know was the question on my mind.

That was mostly how I found myself outside his door with only the memory of saying something vaguely like, "I'm going to take a walk," and then closing the door to Gaius' chambers. I bit my lip because it was night time and I really wanted to talk to him but it was night time and it wouldn't look appropriate. I wasn't naïve, despite what Adrianna said. Okay… well, maybe a little.

I had my hand all ready and poised to knock (whether or not I would have ended up knocking was a completely different story) when the door opened and Arthur stood there, staring at me. "…Jenny?"

I almost said something completely stupid like, "Surprise!" and I'm so very glad I managed to restrain myself. Also, the fact that he knew my name at this point wasn't at all unexpected but I felt a little unsettled that it still seemed to give me butterflies.

"Um, hi," I said.

There was an awkward moment where we kind of just stood there. And then, the word babble that I mentioned before? Yeah.

"So… how are you? I'm mostly fine but it's been a pretty odd day and Adrianna's being a weirdo and Merlin's never really helpful with that because it's like she takes all of his cues to not be an idiot and reverses them so that she's acting even more stupid than before and you know who showed up at Gaius' door today? Lancelot and –" My voice, which had been getting progressively more high-pitched as the sentence got longer, broke with a squeak. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you that. Or that."

Arthur sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He did that a lot I noticed. I stood there awkwardly because that is apparently what I do. "And you came here because…?"

"Er. Do people never come to you just to talk?" I asked, confused. I didn't really have experience with this. Mostly if I called Lyssa anytime I pleased, it was fine (except for that one time at two in the morning that we resolved never to speak of again).

"Only Merlin," he answered.

"Oh," I said. "You look like you're leaving anyway."

Arthur stepped out of his room after I finally moved out of the way. "Doing my rounds," he said.

I smiled, "No chance of me coming then."

He laughed and smiled that funny smile he gave Merlin when he thought no one important was looking. "Not a chance," he agreed.

"Okay. Erm… have fun?"

"Yes, a lot of fun," he agreed. "Tell Merlin he has to clean my chainmail, sharpen my sword, and exercise my dogs before tomorrow, will you?"

I frowned, watching him walking away and wondered how many of those chores Adrianna would end up doing unnecessarily before she caught on that Merlin did all of his chores with Magic anyway. Also? I thought, how could someone so pretty end up being such a jerk? Then my thoughts rolled back to Adrianna. Oh yeah.

* * *

It was thoroughly impossible for Merlin's room to seem any smaller.

"This is your fault," Adrianna told Lancelot. "If you weren't here, we wouldn't be sleeping basically on top of each other."

Lancelot was too polite to argue and offered more than once to "seek accommodations elsewhere", but Merlin just glared fiercely at Adrianna (to which she firmly said, "you just make me want to reach out and pinch your cheek and say, 'Awe, look at the little Merlin' when you make that face." Merlin had since stopped making that face) and told her, basically, to shut up.

Adrianna was now pouting and complaining loudly.

I was squished between the bed and Adrianna and failed to see how this was different than any other night other than the fact that the bed was pushed over a foot and a half and Lancelot was on the other side of it.

Finally everything settled a little bit and then I remembered.

"Merlin?" I asked, hoping he was still awake.

"Yeah Jenny?" he said, leaning over the side of the bed, sounding tired.

"Arthur says he wants you to clean his chainmail, sharpen his sword, and exercise his dogs tomorrow."

There was a pause in which everyone stared at me, including Lancelot who I could see peeking over the other side of the bed.

"What?" I asked. "He told me himself."

Adrianna smacked me. "Just go to sleep, you idiot," she said, sounding almost fond before tugging the small blanket away from me violently.

* * *

Either it hadn't quite sunk in yet or Jenny was in shock – Adrianna wasn't sure which. By it, she meant Lancelot. Adrianna didn't know if it had sunk in for her yet.

Lancelot was the epitome of chivalry. It was ridiculous.

Adrianna hadn't really believed that saying, "Chivalry is dead" because she did all right. Boys asked her for her number and stuff and sometimes held the door open for her, if they liked her. Lancelot held the door open for everyone. Including Merlin (who failed to notice this at all).

It was really strange. Adrianna wasn't sure if she liked it. She was, in fact, capable of opening the door herself.

"So, I suppose you're stuck with me today," she said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"Sorry," Lancelot said, kind of automatically Adrianna thought. She sighed because this was going to be a long day.

Especially because she'd been demoted to kitchen worker.

But she supposed she was lucky just to have her job in the first place.

* * *

"Hey, you! With the face!"

Several people turned to her and Adrianna stared at them. That apparently worked better in the twenty-first century. "Um," she said, "I meant his face," and pointed at George, who sighed like it was his fate to be harassed by crazy girls. Adrianna supposed she'd feel that way if she befriended Jenny too.

He sighed at her, "What?"

He was trying to juggle three different trays and looked like he'd rather not stay and chat (Jenny, sulking, was soaking wet over on dishes and she knew she'd get an earful later about George trying to steal her job. Adrianna didn't think it worked that way).

"...Want some help?" she asked instead.

Suspiciously George handed her the tray and she ducked out of the kitchens, feeling Jenny's glare on the back of her head.

"So..." George said. She looked at him a little strangely. "That new bloke - what's he doing here?"

"Real subtle," Adrianna commented. "The gossip around here is just stooping to a new low, isn't it? His name is Lancelot and he's Merlin's friend and right now he's either literally avoiding Prince Arthur and angsting about it or mucking out the stables because he's too nice and Merlin's lazy."

"Right."

"Right."

And that put and end to that conversation.

* * *

"I never thought I'd say it but I miss Morgana," was the first thing Adrianna said when she saw Merlin. "I feel like I have nothing to do. Supposedly I'm not supposed to be in the kitchens, which I actually used to like but I'm not sure what happened there, and I'm not Morgana's maid anymore, obviously so... any ideas? Because I doubt that my new job is to wander the castle and annoy other servants."

That had been George's delicate way of saying that Adrianna was useless, she thought angrily.

Merlin sighed and looked up from where he was studying his book intently (and when Adrianna thought about that, it was rather suspicious). "The problem," he said, "is that you don't work under anyone. People work under you since you were assigned specifically to Morgana, but obviously you have no idea how that works either."

Adrianna glared at him and dropped to the floor unceremoniously. "So enlighten me, oh wise servant."

His lips twitched in a way that told her he was trying to suppress a smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll get the orders and pass them on to you. We'll just tell people you're distraught over Morgana's absence."

Adrianna rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever."

Merlin smiled then and looked up from the book, jabbing at it with a finger. "I found it!" he said happily.

"Found what?" Adrianna asked, resting her chin on her palm in an expression of boredom.

"Here," and he thrust the book at her before kicking Arthur's armour into one big pile. And then he held out his hand and muttered some words that Adrianna was sure she'd never read in a Harry Potter book, his eyes flashing gold for just a second before there was a loud bang and the armour shot halfway across the room.

Adrianna's hand had immediately jumped to her heart, which in turn had tried to leap right out of her chest. She rounded on Merlin, who's face was slightly sheepish.

"That's not what was supposed to happen."

"Oh, ya think?" she asked sarcastically, pushing the book back at him.

Merlin ran a hand through his hair and it stuck up in little tufts. "See, polishing the armour's not hard because I don't need any spells for that but getting the dents out is a little harder. This particular spell apparently doesn't do what I thought it did."

Adrianna gaped at him. What she managed to process is this: "You've been letting me polish the armour by hand when you could've just, like, looked at it?"

"I tried to tell you not to..." Merlin said weakly.

Adrianna just sighed and changed the subject. "Where's Lancelot?"

"Oh, er, he's mucking out Arthur's horses for me."

"Right."

The door opened to reveal Gaius who had one eyebrow raised - it was threatening to disappear into his hairline. "What was that noise?"

"Um," Merlin said, looking down at the book in his hands and throwing it to the other side of the room where it hit the wall and fell to the floor with a thud. "We were cleaning."

Adrianna wondered if anyone ever believed him when he said things like that.

* * *

Adrianna had been right when she said that Lancelot was hiding from Prince Arthur. Well no, not hiding Adrianna amended, but avoiding because he actually thought it was in everyone's best interest if he just wasn't seen at all - he wasn't just telling himself that. He actually believed it.

Unfortunately, Adrianna thought frowning, Jenny had a big mouth and the stables were not the best place to hide.

She debated not going over there because she did take some small pleasure in seeing Lancelot be uncomfortable (and if that made her a sadist than so be it). In the end she sighed and stalked over, standing behind him and waiting for Arthur to notice she was there.

"... you earned your place when you defeated the Griffin. Why would you return when you don't want to be here?" Arthur asked.

Lancelot cleared his throat and nodded toward her. Adrianna glared at him for ruining her fun. "Hello, Sire. Just here to collect this idiot. Come on, if we don't get back Jenny's going to start having ideas about cooking and then no one will be able to eat because if they do they might just die of poisoning."

Lancelot frowned at her and she smiled to let him know she was half-joking about the idiot comment. Not about Jenny's cooking though.

Arthur sighed. "If you change your mind, Lancelot, let me know. We could use a knight like you, even if Camelot's not in mortal peril quite right now."

Adrianna felt like she was in the middle of one of those movies that only guys go to see because of all the sport content. She frowned. "He's here because of Gwen," she said suddenly. "Because Gwen's missing? In case anyone's forgotten about that."

There was silence and sometimes Adrianna wondered why she bothered opening her mouth. Before she could say anything worse (and what she already said was pretty bad), she turned and walked away. The only worse thing she could have done, she reflected, was bring up Morgana.

Adrianna grabbed Merlin by the arm when she saw him on his way up to Arthur's chambers and steered him in the opposite direction before he could complain. "So," she said, "I'm an idiot."

* * *

"You are so dumb."

It occurred to me only after I said this that it might have been a little bit stupid to just ... open a conversation that way.

Adrianna glared at me over the sink as she dumped a ton of dishes in. They splashed me. "I know, okay? I thought we decided this last night when Lancelot was all, _Oh, woe is me. Gwen's not here..._"

I failed to be impressed by her impression. "You know," I said, "you think you're funny but you're not."

Adrianna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well... I didn't mean to say it all right? It just ... slipped out. Plus, it's not like anyone's concerned about Gwen at all. Right now they're all, _Oh, Morgana~_ when it was her decision in the first place to go and leave like that."

I quickly glanced around and then said quietly, "You know you can't say things like that. You saw what happened to that boy in the square. And we all know he didn't have magic."

Adrianna ducked her head and sighed. "Yeah, I know. Sorry."

It was only just beginning to sink in that Lancelot was actually there. Like, in Merlin's bedroom, where we stayed. The thought made me clench my jaw for two reasons:

Firstly, Lancelot was just so Lancelot. Stupidly noble and loyal and besides the fact that he wasn't ugly he may as well have been a carbon copy of Lancelot from The Once and Future King. It was ridiculous.

My relationship with the fictional Lancelot from the book was always hot and cold. One minute I loved him and then the next I felt like I just could not go on reading The Ill-Made Knight because Lancelot was just so stupid. And Guinevere, but that was a completely different rant.

Secondly, because of the opposite of the first reason. In real life (and the fact that I was still able to call this my real life aside) Lancelot was easy to get along with. He was maybe even a little bit boring.

It wasn't how I pictured him but it was how I pictured him and the double vision effect it had on me was messing with my head. I had the same problem with Arthur sometimes. Merlin was the only normal one because he was so far from the original Merlin that they were easy to separate (even if I took into account Mary Stewart's version of him).

* * *

When Tom told me I could go it was a huge relief because even though Merlin had found her work (haha, she cleaned lesser nobles rooms, and I felt completely justified in laughing at her), Adrianna insisted on hanging around me during the down-time, and it was really distracting. I'd dropped three plates today.

I found myself, after a bit of wandering, standing at a window and looking down at the courtyard below. I leaned out and squinted at the sun, wondering how far I could lean over before I'd fall. Before I'd moved more than two inches forward, there was a large hand on the back of my dress pulling me back in.

"Why is it that whenever there's someone doing something weird I always end up with you on the other side of it?" Arthur asked and I smiled.

"I'm generally just a weirdo," I said, "don't mind me."

"You were leaning out of a window," he said dryly.

"Well, it's not like I was going to jump," I protested, running my hands over the stone of the ledge. It was cold and smooth and grey.

"You could have fallen," he pointed out, leaning on the wall beside me.

"Suppose so," I said, finally turning to look at him. It always made my stomach all jumpy. "I am fairly clumsy."

"That is an understatement," Arthur said, smiling.

"Let me guess," I said before my mouth took leave and decided it didn't want to listen to anything my brain had to say, "Merlin has to polish your armour, sharpen your sword, exercise your dogs and... pick you some fresh flowers for your room."

Arthur looked at me strangely and said, "I think the flowers are going a bit far, don't you?" But his lips were quirking in a smile so I counted it as a win. "Maybe I just wanted to make sure you didn't accidentally kill yourself."

"Maybe," I conceded.

* * *

The next day it was deathly hot outside and if I ever really, really wanted air conditioning, it would have been right then. It was even more sweltering in the kitchens and I could feel myself sweating and it was just gross.

Adrianna said about as much as she came in at the end of my shift to walk me home. "You look worse than I feel, which is pretty bad."

I just looked at her, trying to muster up the energy to smack her or some equivalent but not quite attaining it. "I just want to change my dress," I said. "And then possibly wash. Or reverse those things, probably."

"I want a bath," Adrianna said. "No, you know what? I want a freaking shower."

"Air conditioning. I win," I said and Adrianna nodded, pushing the door to Gaius' chambers open. It was slightly cooler in here than the hall and blessedly cooler than the kitchens.

"Oh good," he said when he saw us and pushed a satchel into Adrianna's hands. "Merlin's not around - with Arthur, I expect - and you two can make yourselves useful. I need these herbs."

I wanted to die.

* * *

"I don't even know what valerain is," Adrianna said looking at the list, "let alone how to find it. Looking for Merlin, then?"

"Yep," I agreed, feeling slightly fresher in my clean dress. It helped that I knew everyone smelled like me, if I smelled badly that was. Because I couldn't smell Adrianna and she was right there. Hopefully I was just being paranoid.

Finding Merlin was easy because finding Arthur was easy and probably seventy-five percent of the time they were together. So when Adrianna spotted a very blond head on the training grounds, we headed that way.

Merlin was sitting on the grass, trying his best not to look extremely bored (I could tell because he got the same look every time Gaius mentioned anything about anatomy) and Arthur was viciously beating the training dummy with what looked like a significant portion of his energy. Lancelot looked like he was waiting for a turn.

"Is that wise?" Adrianna asked, her eyes on them as she flopped down next to Merlin. "Because I can pretty much tell you that's how you get heat stroke."

"Or dehydration," I said, frowning. Apparently I was not the only one who did stupid things. Then again, Arthur was never exactly known for being overly bright, even in the legends. At least they weren't wearing armour.

Merlin just sighed like he couldn't be bothered answering and let himself fall flat on his back, rolling up the sleeves of his blue shirt. "He's an idiot. Insists that training should be done even now, though he cancelled training with the knights."

"I can hear you, Merlin." Arthur said, sounding frustrated as he threw down his sword. "And you still can't talk to me like that."

Merlin made a very rude gesture with his hands that I'm sure he didn't know before. I gaped as Adrianna burst out laughing and had to press her face into the grass to muffle the sounds. Arthur just looked confused. Lancelot somehow looked like he was used to it. Could one become used to Adrianna in only two days? I still wasn't used to her. He must have had the tolerance of a monk.

"You taught him that, didn't you?" I accused and Adrianna couldn't actually articulate an answer. "You're such a horrible person."

"What -?" Arthur asked.

"Trust me, don't ask. Just... don't ask."

* * *

"Don't you have, like, Crown Princely things to do?" Adrianna asked when Arthur tagged along (which was just really, really weird).

"It's too hot," Arthur said simply in a tone that bordered on whinging. I saw Merlin roll his eyes.

"Yeah," Merlin agreed, "but you just get to sit there while we end up looking for the stupid herbs and then it'll basically just be me because these two have no idea what they're doing."

"Thanks," Adrianna said, "I hate you too."

Eventually we stopped and Merlin knelt down on the ground and shoved what looked like a leaf in my face. "This is what we're looking for."

"A leaf?" I asked before I had a chance to tell my mouth to shut up. Arthur laughed and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"No," Merlin said, looking slightly annoyed, "this specific leaf."

We established exactly five minutes later why I never took Biology in school: all the leaves looked exactly the same to me. All of them. Well, the maples at home I could probably distinguish but all of these leaves just looked green.

"You... just sit there," Adrianna said, throwing my leaves up in the air violently, "because you make things harder."

I pouted, "It's not my fault."

I heard her mutter something that sounded an awful lot like, "Faking it so that she doesn't have to do any work," which, thanks very much, was not true at all. She stomped away, grabbing Lancelot's shirt sleeve as she went.

"You know," I said to Arthur behind me, wondering if he'd just fallen asleep on the grass, "It's autumn where I come from. And we don't have any of this heat wave nonsense. I hope Lyssa's freezing." And that wasn't very mature of me but there you go.

"Lyssa?" Arthur asked and then a second later, "Never mind, I don't even want to know."

"I thought you were asleep," I managed smartly.

"With you and Merlin in the same area, I could never get sleep. It would be like tempting fate with all of the bad luck in the world."

"You're not very nice." I didn't know where this confidence was coming from suddenly but I kind of wanted it to go away. But not at the same time. It was confusing. "I mean, I don't even know what I mean."

It was that double vision effect again. I wondered if Merlin got it too - seeing Arthur when he was at his most prickly, arrogant and self-righteous, and Arthur who would be king, generous and caring, and maybe a little bit stupid. But in a good way.

I shifted so that I was sitting at his side with my legs stretched out. The grass was tickley. "At least it doesn't look like it's going to rain," I commented and then felt my face flush. The weather. Yes, wonderful topic. I changed it again. "I bet you Adrianna trips."

"I thought you were the clumsy one?" Arthur said and I shrugged.

"I can always hope." I looked down at the ground where my fingers were threaded through the grass and pulled out a handful, letting it flutter to the ground from the height of my shoulder. "Do you, like, miss Morgana?"

And then I realised I said that out loud. "Um, okay," I said before he could even answer. "That was supposed to be inside my head."

There was silence and when I managed to look at him, I noticed he was pulling grass out of the ground too. I wondered if I ruined his whole day and hoped not. "Sorry."

"I thought we came to an agreement about you apologising," he said.

"I maybe, possibly remember something about that."

This conversation was stilted and incredibly awkward. I should have worked harder on my social skills back in the future, which was just a really strange turn of phrase. Or maybe my flirting skills, which were non-existent. I sighed, my stomach doing a completely unsubtle back flip.

It didn't matter really though. What if Guinevere came back when Adrianna went home and then they got married and lived happily ever after? Or not happily ever after because of Lancelot? What if this did end up playing out exactly like the legend? With Arthur marrying Guinevere and her and Lancelot betraying Arthur in spite of their loyalty and Arthur dying at Camlann because of Mordred and Merlin being trapped in a tree/cave/under a rock (it really depended on the version of the story) by Nimueh, who I knew existed but nothing more than that.

"... You're staring at me again," Arthur said flatly, which broke me out of my latest legend daydream-drama-thing.

I realised I'd somehow gotten up on my knees and was leaning slightly toward him. "Sorry, habit," I said distractedly. I chewed on my bottom lip.

"You have a habit of staring at me?"

"Er... possibly." And that answer made him stare at me - probably not for the same reasons though.

Did I even like Arthur? Or was it just me liking King Arthur? They were still two separate things in my head. Probably, if I wanted to stay here, I should merge them. His eyes were really, really blue.

I felt myself leaning forward (subconsciously, I'd tell myself later). I couldn't tell, was his gaze on my mouth? I'd never kissed anyone before. Or been kissed, for that matter.

My lips didn't meet his though – they met the side of his neck. I opened my eyes and felt myself flush horribly. He'd moved out of the way?

"Sorry, I mean –" I said, squeezing my eyes shut and wringing my hands together tightly. "I just, like, I don't know. I'm sorry." I swallowed and fought back tears. This was possibly the single most humiliating moment of my whole life. "I thought, maybe but-but – I don't know why, I mean…"

Arthur grabbed one of my hands and ran his thumb over the knuckles and I used the other to press against my eyes. "I'm sorry I'm stupid."

"You're not stupid," Arthur said tensely. "Maybe a little bit senseless, but not stupid."

"Those are synonyms." I really don't know where my brain came up with these things.

Arthur rolled his eyes, took hold of my chin, and tipped my face up to his. "Would you be happy with this?" he asked, brushing his lips against mine. I didn't even have time to close my eyes.

"Um, yes?" I squeaked as he flopped onto his back and threw his arm over his face to shield out the sun.

"It was just a kiss," he said after a minute and there was a pause.

"Right."

I couldn't help but touch my lips though, when he wasn't looking.

* * *

"I think I should go rescue her," Adrianna said.

"Rescue her?" Lancelot asked, looking in the direction where Adrianna was staring and not searching for herbs.

"She's socially incompetent," Adrianna explained, falling into a comfortable sitting position. "See, she's in love with Arthur but either won't admit it or doesn't realise it. Not that it matters because we're going home and she's just going to have to get over it."

Lancelot was silent. "Okay," he said. And then a second later, "What if she doesn't want to go home?"

Adrianna clenched her teeth together. "She does."

"All right," Merlin said coming up beside her and unslinging the satchel from his shoulder to sit down, "if you say so."

Adrianna sighed and closed her eyes. She couldn't think about that - every time she did it felt like her head might explode just from the pressure. "Whatever," she said instead, leaning against Merlin for support. It felt good to have just a male friend without any of the awkward tension she would have gotten at him. Ignoring the incident last week, of course. She tried not to think about it lest she die of embarrassment.

"It's hot," Merlin complained, shoving at her halfheartedly. Adrianna glared at him. When she glanced over at Lancelot he looked amused. She tried to communicate with a look that this could be him instead but she wasn't sure it got across.

After a few moments of basically what amounted to spying on Jenny and Arthur (not much to see, it turned out. He was apparently sleeping and she was folded over with her knees drawn to her chest) Lancelot stood up. "When did Gaius need these for?" he asked, motioning to the bag.

That was the apparently polite way of saying, "Hurry up," because Lancelot only knew how to be polite.

Merlin stood up quickly without warning and Adrianna fell into the grass. "Thanks," she said, rubbing at her head. He smiled and helped her up.


	17. Cold, Hard, Deceptive

_Author's Note:_

Hey! This is chapter seventeen! Do you know what that means? It means there are 4 chapters left! Isn't that exciting?

Anyway, getting on with it, thank you to **J.T.A** (who reviewed twice :D *heart*), **Catindahat**, **thebloodrose**, **sarahelizabeth1993**,and **Magi's Merlin** for reviewing. You guys are my favourite. And as usual, thanks to **Wren Hightower** for the beta *hearts*

_Disclaimer:_ I own nothing! Except for Lyssa, Brittany, Adrianna, and Jenny :D And any other OC you may come across.  
_Warnings:_ Spoilers for series one and series two of Merlin and spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White.

And now go forth and read :D

* * *

**- Chapter Seventeen: Cold, Hard, Deceptive -**

There was nothing completely, totally, perfectly normal about Lyssa's day. At all.

Reasons for this included the fact that she'd failed another Physics test and was seriously looking into the possibility of summer school.

The fact that Ben had asked Gwen out on a date and she had been too polite to say no (not that her stuttering and blushing could have really been called a yes but Ben had taken it that way and Gwen was apparently too nice to call him out on it).

The fact that Brittany was actually doing homework. Granted, it was Biology and not History but it was at least something.

And, oh yeah. Apparently, if you slice your hand open on a shard of Mirror you can time travel. Lyssa must have missed that lesson in Physics.

BREAK

"You know," Brittany said, lounging on Lyssa's couch as the three of them watched Doctor Who, "they make time travel seem really fun and interesting. Instead, it involves blood-play."

"You disturb me," Lyssa said, not looking up from her failure of a Mass-Energy test. She was trying to figure out how she only managed a thirty-three.

Gwen was quiet because it was probably her blood they needed. After all, it was Jenny's that had brought them across.

That's how they figured it anyway.

When Jenny tripped and smashed them both into the Mirror, there had been blood left behind, which the police had assumed pointed toward foul play. The rumour circling at school now was that Jenny and Adrianna had run away for some reason, because those two kids Michelle and Julian had only weeks before and only Michelle had come back.

"It could have been Adrianna's blood," Brittany had pointed out, but Lyssa didn't think so. She didn't know very much about Magic but that Mirror must have been very old. It must have lived through centuries and centuries if it had once stood in Lady Morgana's chambers, where Gwen cleaned it. It was even in the Renaissance section of the museum, even though it was clearly much older than that. If it had passed through so much time, then why would it choose the Arthurian period (as she'd taken to calling it in her head)? Why would it choose a time when who was supposed to be Queen Guinevere had been cleaning it?

It all came down to Jenny - that was Jenny's fantasy, not Adrianna's.

"No," Lyssa had told them and Gwen had nodded slowly, "I think Adrianna only went because they were touching. Like an accident."

That had only succeeded in making Brittany purse her lips and roll her eyes.

"I don't know how I'm going to live normally after this," Gwen said, her eyes on the TV as Matt Smith said something ridiculous. "No one will ever believe me."

Lyssa smiled. "Don't worry. No one will ever believe us, either."

She knew that didn't really help but it made the corner of Gwen's lips turn up anyway.

* * *

The night Lyssa was helping Gwen get ready for her "date" was a complete disaster.

"Um, so, what is a date?" Gwen asked, looking rather embarrassed. "Because ..."

Lyssa wanted to hit herself. Right; dates were kind of modern, weren't they?

"Er," Lyssa said eloquently, "It's when two people go out somewhere, alone, to spend time with each other."

There was silence.

"And what do we do?" Gwen asked.

"Well. Just be yourself?" she asked.

Gwen didn't look very impressed. "Can you hand me the phone, please?" she asked.

Lyssa opened her mouth and then shut it again. "You're calling Brittany, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Right."

* * *

The date wasn't horrible, Gwen had to admit, but it was awkward. They went to see a movie and ate popcorn. He tried to kiss her. She didn't let him. And then he called her a 'prude'.

Well, if there was one thing that Gwen had learned from the present, it was that she was a lot stronger than she thought. Mentally.

She figured if she could handle this - and not just a date but school and technology, and magic - then she could handle anything.

She could handle going home and thinking maybe she'd be Arthur's wife. Or Lancelot's. She could handle confronting Morgana about her dreams. They weren't just dreams. She was deluding herself if she thought they were just dreams. She could handle talking to Merlin about his magic.

She bit her lip; those last ones would be the hardest to do, maybe because they had already happened and weren't some distant thing that she could shake her head at and laugh. They were real.

She wasn't even sure if she saw it as a betrayal anymore. There was no possible way Morgana would have sought out magic purposefully. Her dreams terrified her. It terrified Gwen that she couldn't be there for her - who would she turn to? She hoped it was Merlin, instead of keeping it all bottled up.

But Merlin was hiding things too - keeping more secrets than anyone.

Gwen had done a lot of thinking over these past months (had it really been that long?). The problem was, nothing she'd seen could in any way convince her that magic was not, in all simplicity, bad. The Mirror certainly could hold no valuable purpose (and she considered briefly that fact that maybe she didn't understand. She wasn't a sorceress - maybe time travel could serve a purpose of some sort. But then she'd remind herself that the trade off was your own blood and she stopped thinking about it completely).

But if magic was bad and people who used magic were bad by default, then what did that make Morgana and Merlin, who had never hurt anyone? Morgana didn't ask for her magic. Merlin - well, she wasn't sure. But he was Merlin and she couldn't make her mind mesh the image of him with any image of evil. The thoughts were kind of frightening.

The idea of going home and not knowing what to expect was frightening, too.

* * *

There was nothing completely, totally, perfectly normal about Brittany's day. At all.

There was only one reason for this (beside the obvious time travel stuff, which recently she'd been counting as almost normal).

She got a ninety-three on her History paper. Which was odd, because she hadn't been to class in at least a week.

"Uhm, Mr Sloan?" she asked, looking at the mark. "Did you mean to give me a thirty-nine and just get the numbers mixed up or did I actually get an A?"

He frowned at her. "Your paper was well written," he said, organising a stack of papers on his desk. "Your thesis on the magic rituals of that time period was impressive, even if you might have done a little bit more research on the subject."

"Oh." Brittany glanced down at it again, "Er, thank you?"

"Oh," he said as she turned to leave. "You have three assignments overdue. I suggest you get them in, if you'd like a decent mark in this course."

Brittany nodded.

* * *

"I can't believe you got a better mark than me," Lyssa complained as soon as Brittany caught up with her. "Since when does that happen?"

Brittany shrugged.

They met Gwen in the cafeteria, where she was trying to look inconspicuous in a corner. It was really rather lucky that the teachers were spectacularly stupid and failed to notice she wasn't actually a student. Gwen was reading The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart.

Lyssa was perhaps just a little obsessed with the legend now. If Jenny were here, she would've had a field day.

"Sleepover," Lyssa said when they sat down. "Tonight. I think we should maybe talk about the Mirror."

Brittany nodded. "Your mom's not going to, like, give me dirty looks all night, is she?"

Gwen marked her place and set the book aside. "I think she has to work, right Lyssa?"

Lyssa nodded and sighed.

* * *

That night they sat around the Mirror fragment.

They'd talked about it so often, Gwen felt like they were talking themselves in circles. It usually went like this:

Gwen has to go home.

Yes but - can we trust just letting her cut herself on it?

It worked for Jenny and Adrianna.

But ... how are we going to know if they come back? Do they have to be in front of the Mirror or will it choose a time where they are in front of it automatically?

Do we really have a way of finding out?

Not really. We could scry?

With what? Magic?

Well, Gwen has to go home somehow.

Yes, but -

It was mostly Lyssa and Brittany arguing but Gwen managed to get a word in now and then. They'd searched the Internet (which Gwen really didn't understand at all) but there really wasn't all that much on Mirrors and anything about scrying was obviously not going to work.

"I think we should just do it." Gwen interjected in the middle of their argument.

They stared at her.

"I mean, not right now. But ... soon. Soon."

Lyssa nodded and picked up the Mirror piece, carefully. "It can't be so easy."

"What if it is though?" Brittany asked, looking at the fragment.

* * *

Lyssa had the Mirror in front of her when she sat down at her desk and flipped open to the next clean page of Jenny's notebook. The hardest part of this entire ordeal was the distance between everyone.

It felt like there was actually a physical barrier between them - cold, shiny glass. Instead of letting anyone through it just threw you back at yourself. It was in impossible to communicate through it.

At the same time there was also the barrier of at least a thousand years. The thought made her swallow and her writing wasn't all that steady for a minute.

But if Jenny decided she didn't want to come back, that was okay.

Gwen could always give this letter to her instead.


	18. The Queen of Air and Darkness

_Author's Note:_

HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?

Too long.

I come with valid reasons, though. If you don't care, feel free to skip straight on to the story.

At the beginning of September, someone really really close to me died. And it's been really hard on me. I know a lot of you don't really care, and I'm not asking you to, I'm just explaining why it's been four months (FOUR? How did I go that long? ;_;), and hopefully I will finish this ASAP, especially since I go back to school in January.

I think as a result of my break from writing this, this chapter isn't up to my regular standards. I apologise - that's on me. I hope that it comes more easily in the future. On that note, this is also unbetaed. Sorry about that, but Wren promised that she'd point out any errors if there were any.

Also - on series three. I wasn't very impressed with it, honestly. But there will be elements of it in this story, purely coincidentally. Sorry about that.

_Disclaimer:_ I own nothing! Except for Lyssa, Brittany, Adrianna, and Jenny :D And any other OC you may come across.  
_Warnings:_ Spoilers for series one and series two (and vague series three) of Merlin and spoilers for _The Once and Future King_ by TH White. AU after episode 9 of series one.

Thank you so much to TwinPhoenixOfDark, AnGelFacE S2, J.T.A, Catindahat, and sarahelizabeth1993 for reviewing. And for everyone else for being patient with me. I love you all so much.

* * *

**- Chapter 18: The Queen of Air and Darkness -**

There was nothing completely, totally, perfectly normal about Arthur's day. At all.

He always knew that the day was going to be weird when he started it late. It was Merlin's fault, naturally. It always went one of two ways. Usually, Merlin would burst through his door (without knocking) ten minutes late and Arthur would give him that look that started their morning banter.

If this scenario didn't happen, it meant Merlin was missing again. Contrary to popular belief, Arthur wasn't stupid. He could put two and two together. When Merlin went missing, it mean that something very bad was about to happen. He had no idea why but it was a general pattern he'd observed. Arthur just figured that Merlin was uncommonly nosy and knew a lot more than he should.  
Today was unfortunately one of those days.

Today unfortunately, as usual, the threat involved magic.

Again.

(Then again, when weird was normal, was it still weird?)

* * *

Eventually things went back to a tentative normal. We fell into pattern, at least, like we did when we first arrived. It was amazing how people can adapt to situations that are completely beyond their control.

It was also amazing in a horrifying way how people can fail to adapt at all. I wasn't actually sure if 'adapt' is the word I was looking for. Adrianna and I were spending an increasing amount of time alone because Merlin was always out with Arthur looking for Morgana. Alone was not good for us. It usually ended in one of two ways.

Option a: Adrianna stormed out/slammed a door/broke something, as she was prone to do.

Option b: we sat in silence for hours until Gaius get back from wherever he happened to be for the day (increasing amounts of time wasted trying to reason with King Uther? Check).

"Ouch."

"Did you prick yourself again?"

"Oh, shut up," I said, sucking on my finger. Sewing was not for me.

"Want to go for a walk?" she asked suddenly.

"Sure."

It wasn't nearly as unbearably hot as it had been recently but it was still warm enough to go without a shawl, which was nice. It made me want to skip out on the kitchens everyday and spend it outside writing. Unfortunately, I had nothing to write with or on and making up stories in my head wasn't the same - it didn't have the same sense of finality or permanence.

"Think Lancelot likes being a knight?"

I rolled my eyes. You know how sometimes when you were with your friends and you found yourselves just thinking the same things for no reason at all? That never happened with me and Adrianna. "Probably," I answered, "He seems like he does. He should. He's about the only thing the legend got right in this whole mess."

Adrianna snorted. "When are you going to stop referring to the legend? It's obvious that they decided it wasn't cool enough the way it is and added a bunch of-"

I cut her off before she said anything inappropriate, "Yes, well. When you go back you'll read them and understand." If Adrianna noticed my slip, she didn't mention it.

"I don't plan on reading them. As far as I'm concerned, this is my canon."

I actually laughed, "'Canon'?"

"Blame Brittany."

"Right."

The silence we were so accustomed to descended again as she steered our walking towards the trees we frequently gathered Gaius' herbs near. "So, it's been pretty quiet lately."

"Yep," she agreed, "I'm waiting to find some mysterious magical sign that misery is just over the horizion." She said this in such a deadpan voice I couldn't decide if she was being serious or sarcastic.

I forced a laugh. "Don't jinx it."

* * *

It wasn't funny at all the next day when Adrianna stormed into the kitchens, grabbed my arm hard enough to bruise, and shoved a very magical-looking stone into my face. "What is this?" she hissed.

I scrambled to force her to put the stupid thing in her pocket. "How should I know?" I asked angrily, "You think I've read up on every mag-"

She clamped her hand over my mouth. "Shut up," she ordered, smiling as George walked passed, giving us a weird but not unexpected look.

"Good point," I said before licking her hand.

"Ew."

* * *

"So. We have a... rock."

"A glowing rock." Adrianna clarified.

"What do we do with it?"

We were sitting in Gaius' quarters with the stone in the middle of the table in front of us. Neither of us wanted to touch it, if we could help it. It was an unspoken, obvious agreement that we would give it to Gaius when he got back from wherever he was.

"We - don't touch it." Adrianna said unnecessarily.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, really - where did you even find this?" I asked incredulously.

"Um, well - okay, don't be mad." Adrianna held her hands up in a gesture of innocence. "But, I may have, like, been looking around Morgana's room."

"You found this in Morgana's room?"

"Yeah, that's the weird part. It was on her window ledge." Adrianna said, twisting her hands in her lap. "It was just sitting there."

"Morgause's, then?"

"But why wouldn't they take it with them? Does Morgause really strike you as the type to leave something important behind, if there wasn't a reason?"

"So you think there's a reason?" I asked, hesitantly, reaching out and turning the stone over. There were scratches all over it but despite that it was smooth, and almost polished. There were areas of the stone where where it was lighter, a creamy colour instead of the darker brown. The light strips formed a natural cross in the middle. "A reason they left it behind?"

"No," Adrianna said in a tone that made it seem like I was incredibly dense, "I'm trying to say that it wasn't left there by Morgause."

"Yeah, but how do you know?" I asked. "I mean wouldn't it be possible for her to want to send Uther a message?"

"Why?" Adrianna asked. "She got what she came for. Her immediate game plan isn't Uther - and I'm really thinking that she and Morgana have some things to work out first."

I paused. Honestly, I was barely hanging on. "Yeah but," I started again, "Uther's half mad with her disappearance. Couldn't it be Morgause telling him to stop looking for Morgana?"

Adrianna bit her lip. "You've confused me," she admitted. "Maybe. But I don't think this is Morgause. I really don't. With Morgana being gone and Uther's troops constantly looking for her - doesn't that leave the kingdom vulnerable? What if -" she cut herself off.

"What if what?"

"Well, there are some players in the legend we haven't heard from yet, aren't there?"

I bit my lip, "Mordred? ... I thought you basically disregarded anything the legend had to say."

Adrianna shook her head, "No, not Mordred -"

She didn't get a chance to explain herself. The door opened and I scrambled to put the stone out of sight but it was too late. The resigned look on Gaius' face said everything.

"It's always you two, isn't it?"

* * *

Gaius' wouldn't touch the stone either, when I put it back on the table. It made me feel a bit stupid for picking it up blindly when I tried to hide it.

"Morgana's room," Adrianna explained without prompting, twisting her hands together, "on the window ledge."  
Gaius' eyebrow raised but he didn't say anything as he turned it over with what looked like a pair of tongs. He sighed at whatever he saw. "And...?" Adrianna asked. "Is it...?"

"Mordred?" I asked again, eyes wide.

Adrianna rolled her eyes at me, "No - Nimueh."

Gaius looked between us suspiciously. "It's her mark," he said and Adrianna sighed too, sinking into a seat.

"And the glowing stone tells us...?" I asked.

Gaius sighed, "It could be anything. Nimueh isn't nearly as subtle as Morgause is - it could be that she simply wants us to know that she knows the kingdom is vulnerable."

I bit my lip and watched as Adrianna frowned. "But why would she warn us? If she just wanted to intimidate, wouldn't she have gone straight for Uther?"

"Would Uther have recognised it as her mark?" I asked, looking at the small series of scratches that formed what Gaius said was her mark.

"Well, no," Gaius admitted. "But I don't know why she would think putting it in Morgana's room would make us see it any faster than leaving it in the throne room - or foregoing this step entirely. We're talking about the sorceress who raised Tristan Dubois from the dead because she wanted revenge."

"That was her?" I squeaked and Adrianna narrowed her eyes at me as if to say, 'is there anything going on in your head at all?'. I glared at her. "Well, it's not like you and Merlin volunteered information to us at that point, was it?" I asked Gaius, knowing my voice sounded a little huffy.

"Some of us know how to connect the dots," Adrianna muttered under her breath.

"The point is," Gaius pressed on loudly, "that this has to mean something, otherwise Nimueh wouldn't have bothered."

There was a beat of silence in which I resigned myself to spending long hours down in the library - the appeal of Geoffrey Monmouth being there had worn off slightly, if only because he breathed down everyone's necks whenever they so much as glanced at his books.

"So, shall I begin with looking through all of the books that are actually written in a language I can read?" Adrianna asked brightly.

"I'll go to the library," I said, voicing my earlier thoughts.

Gaius sighed and looked at the stone on the table. "I suppose we're in for a few long nights."

* * *

"So, how's it going?"

Adrianna jumped, slamming the book in front of her shut automatically. "Do you have to do that?" she asked, frowning.

Lancelot sat down in front of her and she had to grudgingly admit that he looked really good in a knight's uniform. He was wearing an unhappy expression.

"Look," Adrianna said, "I'm going to regret asking, I know I am, but what's wrong?"

"How much closer are we to getting Gwen back?" Lancelot asked.

Adrianna sighed. She didn't know, honestly. How was she supposed to know? If she knew, she wouldn't be constantly pouring through books that she barely understood. So, instead of answering, she just gave him a sympathetic smile and shrugged. It wasn't a very good answer but it would have to do.

There was a silence in which Adrianna proceeded to play with the edges of the pages of the book she was attempting to read. She wasn't sure how in the end she was the one who ended up in the library - it turned out Jenny could be sneaky when she wanted. "Aren't you supposed to be outside beating someone else with a sword?"

"Practice is over for the day," Lancelot said. "Especially since Prince Arthur and the rest of the party arrived home about an hour ago."

Adrianna accidently ripped the a page of the book in her haste and quickly looked around to see if Geoffrey saw. "They're home and no one told me?" She stood up and pushed the book away.

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?"

Adrianna could tell he was confused. She glared at him, muttering as she stormed past Geoffrey and out the door, the clanking noises of his armour telling her that he was following.

* * *

"Did you find her?" were the first words out of Adrianna's mouth when she arrived in Gaius' chambers, closely followed by Lancelot.

Arthur was sitting on the bench, getting a cut on his arm looked at, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Jenny was hovering just behind him and biting her thumbnail worriedly.

Merlin gave her a look that she interpreted as, "Obviously not."

It wasn't until a while later, when Gaius was finally satisfied with Arthur's wound that he stalked out the door (with Lancelot on his heels), intent on briefing Uther on the knowledge that they gained – or the lack there of. Then the four of them sat down to talk, and Gaius took the stone down from the shelf where it was wrapped in a cloth.

"We found this in Morgana's chambers," Gaius explained, "and it has Nimueh's mark on it."

Going over everything twice was even more frustrating than the first time because they got stuck in the same conversation patterns. It felt like they were going in circles.

"So," Merlin summed up, "we know that this stone wasn't for Uther, because Nimueh doesn't do things like that. And we know nothing else."

"Yeah, pretty much," Jenny said gloomily, her chin in her hand.

"There's no way of knowing what she's planning?" Adrianna asked. It just seemed like they were missing something huge and if they figured out what that piece was they could put the whole puzzle together.

Gaius shook his head.

"So, it's her move now, then," Merlin said.


End file.
